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BelExpo

About Us

BelExpo, or the Belgian Commission General for International Exhibitions, looks after Belgian participation in international and world exhibitions organised within the framework of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).

BelExpo is charged with delivering a large-scale project funded by public and private money within roughly three years: from launching public procurement procedures for the design and construction of the Belgian pavilion, recruiting pavilion staff, and devising a thematic concept, to organising events of all kinds.

In this way, BelExpo fulfils the government’s primary objective when it decides to participate in a World Expo, namely to facilitate bilateral trade relations within a predetermined sector.

BelExpo would have no reason to exist without the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). The BIE is the intergovernmental organisation that has been responsible for supervising world exhibitions since 1931, with its headquarters in Paris.

There are four types of international expos organised under the supervision of the BIE: world expos, specialised expos, horticultural expos and the Triennale di Milano. The BIE now has 181 member states, including Belgium as one of its founding members.

The BIE has several responsibilities: selecting the host countries for future expos, providing candidate and host countries with access to its expertise in event management, national branding and public diplomacy, and regulating the organisation of the event.