December 3, 2013. Despite not winning the right to host the World Exhibition EXPO 2020, Yekaterinburg got an unprecedented recognition and awareness boost that could yield some economic dividends in the future, former mayor of Yekaterinburg and member of the Soviet of the Federation Arkady Chernetsky said at a press conference.

‘The promotion of Yekaterinburg that took place could happen under no other circumstances whatsoever. The city became dramatically better known in terms of activating business ties and promising commercial contacts,’ Chernetsky said.

The former mayor reminded those present at the conference that delegates from dozens of countries visited the city over the last two years. Welcoming the foreign representatives sent an impulse from Yekaterinburg to the global community, Chernetsky believes.

The Soviet of the Federation member feels that Yekaterinburg lost in the competition for EXPO 2020 for three reasons: the economic and geopolitical ones and the fact that the heads of some national ministries failed to cooperate. According to Chernetsky, Dubai, on the other hand, made winning the right to host EXPO 2020 into the nation’s Master Narrative, the city ‘was prepared to sacrifice anything on the altar of winning’, including its financial resources.