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Putting sustainability at the heart of AIPH-approved Expos

The virtual AIPH International Horticultural Expo Conference on 19 October attracted delegates worldwide online, eager to listen to future International Horticultural Expos’ progress reports.

AIPH has a mandate agreed by the 1928 Paris Convention and subsequent protocols. Since 1960, International Horticultural Expos have been approved and regulated by AIPH. Every Expo is carefully regulated, steered, and monitored by AIPH.

The audience listening is a network of international Expo organisers, city representatives interested in hosting an expo, urban developers, AIPH members, NGOs, global cities and environmental organisations and suppliers to major events.
International Horticultural Expos showcase beauty and creativity, with a magnificent Expo Park attracting many international participants, who build their pavilions lasting up to six months. The sites range from the smallest of 25 hectares to the largest of 500 hectares or more. Organisers spend millions developing these international spectacles that can stimulate the economic development of entire cities and transform the international reputation of hosting regions.

Each event exposes millions of visitors to the world of horticulture and helps communicate the vital role that plants, flowers and the landscape play in improving the environment and the health and wellbeing of citizens. The Expos stimulate city greening and create better places to live.

From now until 2027, AIPH has approved the following Expos for cities in China, Turkey, Qatar, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Japan. You can watch the recordings of the presentations online now from here https://aiph.org/event/expo-conference-oct-2021/ including:

A1 World Horticultural Expos

  • Expo 2022 Floriade, Netherlands
    14 April–9 October 2022
    Theme: Growing Green Cities
  • Expo 2023 Doha, Qatar
    2 October 2023–28 March 2024
    Theme: Green Desert, Better Environment
  • World Horticultural Exhibition 2027 Yokohama, Japan
    March–September 2027
    Theme: Scenery of the Future for Happiness

B International Horticultural Exhibitions

  • Expo 2021 Hatay, Turkey
    1 April–30 June 2022
    Theme: Garden of Civilisations
  • Expo 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey
    23 April–31 October 2023
    Theme: Nature-Friendly City and Sensitivity
  • Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo 2023, South Korea
    22 April–22 October 2023
    Theme: The Garden of the Earth
  • International Horticultural Exhibition Chengdu 2024, China
    26 April-28 October 2024
    Theme: City in parks and life in poetries
  • Expo İzmir 2026, Turkey
    1 May-31 October 2026
    Theme: Living in Harmony

C International Horticultural Show

  • Euroflora 2022, Italy
    23 April until 8 May 2022
    Theme: Voyage of Rare Beauty

There was an exciting application for AIPH approval made by the municipality of Sakarya, Turkey, to host the A1 Expo in 2029. There is now a six-month holding period in which other countries can apply for the same year. You can view the bidding calendar here.

To view Expo progress reports visit https://aiph.org/event/expo-conference-oct-2021/

Putting Sustainability at the heart of AIPH-approved Expos

As the world’s champion for the power of plants, AIPH is committed to a sustainable future in which humanity, technology, and nature exist in a healthy and stable equilibrium.

To cement our dedication to a sustainable future, AIPH has developed a new Sustainability Policy with regulations for Expo Organisers, with the support of Independent Sustainability Expert Mr David Stubbs. He was formerly Head of Sustainability for London 2012 Olympics & Paralympic Games. He has been working with AIPH to help us identify how we can create best practices for Expo Organisers when planning and staging horticultural Expos and continue to ensure they are the world’s most sustainable major events.

Together we identified five thematic areas related to what we do and where we believe we can make the most positive impact:

  • Climate action – using plants and green spaces to support climate adaptation and resilience programmes in urban environments
  • Biodiversity conservation – promoting nature in cities and sustainable horticultural practices worldwide
  • Sustainable sourcing and resource management – adopting circular economy principles, reducing plastic waste and other forms of pollution, supporting efficient production and ethical supply chain management
  • Equity & inclusion – promoting plant growing and green spaces for all, upholding fair and equitable practices across the horticultural value chain, diversity and human rights
  • Education & awareness raising – engaging, informing and inspiring people to appreciate the importance of plants and the places where they grow, and to take action to protect and enhance their local environment through plant growing

Through this work, our sustainability strategy will substantially help towards a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Stubbs said, “Having a programme which can support the realisation of some of these goals is a very exciting opportunity for the association.

“AIPH has the ambition for World Horticultural Expos to be recognised as among the world’s most sustainable major events. When you think about how these sites can promote biodiversity conservation and create green legacies, this is a great opportunity. It’s about helping these cities to improve their adaptation and resilience to climate change.

“We must also recognise that putting on these events can create a lot of impacts – waste, construction impacts, congestion – unless they are planned and delivered properly you don’t necessarily realise these benefits. The key to this strategy we are developing is to direct organisers to a much more sustainable approach.”

Stubbs cited the example of the London Olympic Park, which resulted in the cleaning up of a polluted river and industrial land, the use of renewable energy, sustainable materials, nature-friendly features such as streetlights that face away from the river to avoid disturbing bats – and an accessible parkland was created for people to visit and enjoy.”

For further information about AIPH-approved Expos visit https://aiph.org/expos/calendar/


Rachel Wakefield

Communications Executive and Associate Editor
United Kingdom

rachel.wakefield@aiph.org