Belgrade today finds itself in a moment when every new construction work announcement is viewed with caution, primarily through the prism of safety. Citizens expect clear standards, verifiable plans, and guarantees that every project will be executed professionally. In such an environment, there is no room for grand statements, only the obligation to assess things realistically and responsibly.
It is precisely on this foundation that the story begins about a transformation already reshaping the face of Belgrade and Serbia. The upcoming developments include infrastructure, public spaces, transport corridors, cultural zones, and business capacities-not through sporadic interventions, but through a systemic approach that changes the way the city functions. Such an undertaking requires discipline, oversight, and adherence to the highest standards-not as a matter of ambition, but as a necessary condition for processes to remain safe, controlled, and sustainable.
Within this framework, Expo 2027 attains its real dimension. It is an opportunity to speak about major investments soberly and with evidence, without exaggeration, but also without dismissing ambitious ideas by default. What is needed is an open conversation free from the culturally ingrained cynicism that often stifles development projects before they have a chance to prove their value. In that sense, Expo becomes a test of our ability to manage major investments responsibly, transparently, and with a clear goal: the lasting improvement of Belgrade.
Experiences from previous world expos tell a different story: Expo has, with almost no exception, been a powerful driver of urban and economic development. Host cities advanced when they knew what they wanted to remain after the exhibition closed, when they had a vision beyond the event itself and a sufficiently thoughtful plan to make it happen. It is precisely in this difference between a short-term event and a long-term transformation that the distinction between cost and investment becomes clear.
The most successful examples reaffirm this. Shanghai in 2010 attracted 73 million visitors and created an entirely new urban district on what had been an industrial zone. After Expo 86, Vancouver transformed its neglected waterfront into one of the most valuable parts of the city, while the transportation infrastructure built at the time still forms the backbone of its metro system today. Lisbon, Seville, and Milan have continued to capitalize on their Expo zones as key tourist, cultural, and business centers. These cases are not exceptions, but confirmations of relevant research. The study The Economic Legacy of World Expos shows that world exhibitions generate employment growth, increased tourism revenue, and accelerated infrastructural development—while emphasising that full benefits are achieved only when a clearly defined post-Expo phase exists.The study Global City Patterns in the Wake of World Expos confirms that cities with a strong legacy plan experience long-term regional development, while those without one miss most of the potential. And research on the impact of the Shanghai Expo on the Yangtze River Delta proves that the event had measurable effects on GDP growth and tourism spending, demonstrating that the benefits are not merely symbolic but economically tangible.
Belgrade now faces a similar test. Expo 2027 must not be seen as a one-off event, but as a strategic platform whose effects will be measured in decades. Investments in transportation, utilities, public spaces, and business zones are not expenses that disappear into budget spreadsheets—they are pillars of the city’s future operations. Transparency, professional oversight, and sustainability must be standards, not declarations, because the public has the right to a clear plan, a clear account, and a clear result.
We do not view Expo as an expenditure, but as an investment that pays off through improvements in daily life: better infrastructure, new jobs, inflows of investment, and the opportunity to present Serbia in its best light. Every dinar invested must be visible in concrete improvements to the city, and the Expo legacy must become the foundation for future generations. We are not building an event for six months,we are building Serbia for decades to come.
When the right questions are asked, the answer becomes clear. Is Expo worth the investment? Yes, but only with the understanding that we are not investing in pavilions, but in the roads leading to them; not in temporary structures, but in new neighborhoods, new infrastructure, and a new international position for Serbia. Expo opens the opportunity for Belgrade to become a regional center of innovation, culture, and entrepreneurship, and gives Serbia the chance to demonstrate that it is capable of executing major projects in line with the highest global standards.
This is why we must remain firmly on the ground of facts, experience, and measurable results, not political labels. If we continue to plan, build, and explain every step under the supervision of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) and with full accountability to the public, Expo will indeed be the investment of the century. And what remains after it will be the clearest proof that this transformation was possible, necessary, and right.
Op-ed by Danilo Jerinić, Director of EXPO 2027 d.o.o. Belgrade