For the host country : Expo is a tool for nation branding and development
Because an Expo is one of the few events able to attract world leaders and decision makers as well as millions of visitors, it is a unique opportunity for a country to strengthen its international image and position itself as a key player in the international arena. In 2000, Hanover Expo allowed Germany to present to the world the new face of the unified country. With Expo Astana 2017 dedicated to the theme Future Energy, the 23 year-old Republic of Kazakhstan aims at increasing its international appeal and affirming its key role in the development of sustainable energies.
An Expo is also an extraordinary way to foster development. The event boosts the improvement of infrastructures, transportation networks and housing capacity. It generates employment and job creation and improves the global business and investment environment of the country.
This local and national development is also boosted by an accurate re-use of the Expo site. After the event, the site is transformed to fit with the economic, social and cultural needs of the area. In Lisbon for example, Expo 1998 allowed an abandoned area to become an important economic center of the city, and Shanghai is turning the site of Expo 2010 into a major cultural and entertainment sector.