Barely in 2009, the city of Shanghai is already looking forward to 2010, when the Expo 2010 World’s Fair lands in China for the very first time. There is nothing is bigger for the hometown crowds than their proud city hosting the big show, but one thing comes close: the Americans are most likely not going to show up.

Ever since the very first world exposition at Crystal Palace in London, the World’s Fairs in their various forms and names have symbolized the pinnacle of so-called country-branding. Nations around the world bring their most cutting-edge technological achievements, the most valuable cultural relics, and most welcoming attitudes to display her greatness and attract people from around the world. Hosting the fair, furthermore, has an added benefit. By bringing people around the world to the city itself, the Chinese are saying to the Fair participants, “let us not just tell you how great we are from our exhibits, but let us show you our great city.”But, not mentioning hosting, even participating in Fairs is an expensive ordeal, the Americans argue. The USA has, by government initiative, left the organization up to private sources. But the big companies aren’t responding: why should we dole out cash when our logo can only show up in the background? Indeed, for the private companies, the investment in the exhibition is way too big for the potential returns for any company. This is the reason why America has not hosted a Fair since 1984 and has not participated in one since 1998.

But the question remains: Wouldn’t the USA benefit from the increase in its influence from participating in the fair? By the enormous government efforts, Shanghai promises to be the largest Fair by size and attendance in years. Considering the political and economic problems she is facing, would participating in the Fair restore the prestige of the USA? Would the large costs of participating in the Fair justify the benefits of recreating a positive brand image for America? Only time can tell.

Source: latimes.com