Minnesota was one of three finalists bidding to host a World Expo in 2023, losing out to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Had Minnesota’s bid prevailed, Expo 2023 would have been the first World Expo approved by the Bureau International des Exhibitions (BIE) to be held in North America in 37 years (since Vancouver Expo 86).
The group that put together Minnesota’s 2023 bid, led by Mark Ritchie, has bounced back with plans to bid for 2027, the next available date for Specialised Expos. This article provides background context on Minnesota’s longstanding commitment to bringing a World Expo to the United States.
Minnesota’s 2023 Bid
Minnesota’s 2023 World Expo bid represented a serious, well-organized effort that reached the finalist stage of the BIE selection process. The bid was characterized by a strong theme centered on health and wellness, a proposed host site in the Bloomington area with proven event infrastructure, and broad support from government, business, and civic organizations across Minnesota.
Reaching the finalist stage was a significant achievement, demonstrating that Minnesota had the organizational capacity, thematic vision, and institutional support to mount a competitive international expo candidature. The experience of being a finalist—engaging with BIE officials, presenting to member nations, and going through the full candidature evaluation process—provided invaluable knowledge and relationships that the team would carry into future efforts.
North American Expo History
The significance of a North American World Expo cannot be overstated. The United States has a rich history with World Expos—including landmark events such as the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, and the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair—but has not hosted a BIE-recognized World Expo since the early 1980s. Canada’s Vancouver Expo 86 was the last such event in North America, making Minnesota’s 2027 candidature an opportunity to end a four-decade absence from North America in the World Expo calendar.
For the global expo community, bringing a World Expo back to North America is seen as important for the vitality of the exposition movement and for engaging American and Canadian audiences with the World Expo tradition. A successful Minnesota expo would demonstrate that World Expos can attract the interest and participation of North American audiences, potentially paving the way for future expo candidatures from the region.
Mark Ritchie’s Vision
Mark Ritchie, the former two-term Minnesota Secretary of State, has been the driving force behind Minnesota’s expo aspirations for more than a decade. His vision for a Minnesota World Expo centers on the state’s genuine strengths—its healthcare innovation ecosystem, environmental quality, cultural diversity, civic engagement tradition, and world-class hospitality infrastructure—and on the opportunity that a World Expo provides to amplify these strengths on the global stage.
Ritchie has spoken about World Expos as unique opportunities for cities and regions to reimagine themselves and to make lasting investments in infrastructure, international connectivity, and civic identity. His persistence in pursuing the expo dream for Minnesota through two separate candidature processes reflects both his conviction about the expo’s transformative potential and his deep commitment to Minnesota’s growth as an international destination.
The Path to 2027
With the formal submission of the U.S. candidature letter in July 2021, Minnesota’s Expo 2027 bid transitioned from aspiration to international reality. The bid committee’s work—building governmental support, developing the thematic vision, identifying the host site, and creating the organizational structure for an expo organizing committee—had reached the point where the international community would formally evaluate Minnesota’s case. The years of preparation that Ritchie and his team invested in the expo project had created a foundation strong enough to attract White House endorsement and State Department engagement.
The 2027 candidature benefits from the lessons of the 2023 bid, the relationships built with BIE officials and member nations over a decade of engagement, and the strengthened theme of health and wellness that reflects the post-pandemic world’s renewed attention to public health and environmental sustainability. Minnesota’s expo team goes into the 2027 candidature process with experience, relationships, and governmental backing that make it one of the stronger candidatures in the competition.