[5] The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) general assembly in Paris named Dubai as the host on 27 November 2013.

American artists Christina Aguilera, Yo-Yo Ma and Norah Jones, Filipino bands Rivermaya, Moonstar88 and Imago, and the Dutch DJ Tiësto were among those who performed on the final night of the exposition.

[1] In order to raise awareness about smart recycling, Expo 2020 organized nationwide bus tours with the waste partner Dulsco.

At the Expo 2020, the Emirati economy minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, signed a deal with his Syrian counterpart, Mohammad Samer al-Khalil, with an aim of boosting trade between the two nations.

It marked the little steps that the UAE was taking to move closer to Assad, who is shunned by majority of the world for his record of human rights abuses.

[345] In 2020, the globally expanding COVID-19 pandemic brought Expo 2020 Dubai under scrutiny, as the event was expected to attract nearly 25 million visitors in October that year.

[346] In March, the Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties warned against the abuse and exploitation of migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates.

The Geneva Council condemned the “discriminatory treatment of migrant workers”, urging the WHO to encourage the UAE to ensure their health and safety.

[350] On 21 April, the executive committee unanimously agreed to delay the expo until 1 October 2021 – 31 March 2022,[351] with this then going to a remote vote of the general assembly.

[356] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Chess Championship 2021 was rescheduled to take place between 24 November 2021 and 16 December 2021 as part of Expo 2020 Dubai.

The match was won by reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, taking on challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, who was victorious in the 2020–21 Candidates Tournament.

Citing the human rights records of the UAE, the EU also called for the international companies, who were sponsoring the event, to withdraw their sponsorship.

The EU stated that the Emirati construction firms and businesses had been exploiting the rights of the migrant workers by forcing them to sign untranslated agreements, confiscating their passports, and leaving them to work for long hours and live in unsanitary conditions.

[359] More than half of the 69 workers interviewed for a survey admitted paying recruitment fees in their home countries to acquire their positions.

Two-thirds of migrant workers polled said their wages or other benefits were not always paid on time or in full, leaving them unable to pay their bills or send money home to their families.

In a statement, Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW, said: "Dozens of UAE peaceful domestic critics have been arrested, railroaded in blatantly unfair trials, and condemned to many years in prison simply for trying to express their ideas on governance and human rights."

In the event, activists came together with poets, musicians, and visual artists from the Middle East to highlight the repression in the UAE and to stand in solidarity with the prisoners of conscience.

[362][363] The Emirati labor practices have been subject to criticism, resulting in Dubai authorities ensured to hold companies with fairly high standards of worker treatment for the event.

Others complained of passport confiscation, broken promises on wages, unaffordable food, long working hours (sometimes in extremely hot weather), crowded, and unsanitary living conditions in dormitories.

The human rights concerns and labor abuses at the Expo prompted the European Parliament to call for a boycott of the event.

The allegations included charging illegal recruitment fees from the migrant workers, subjecting them to forced labor and racial discrimination, followed by delayed wages and confiscation of their passports.

Those on the receiving end of the abuse were migrant laborers working as security guards, hospitality staff, cleaners, etc., at the Dubai Expo 2020.

The report claimed that the UAE's failure at protecting migrant workers during the event not only risked the reputation of the participating countries and companies.

Five cities originally bid for the slot for a world's fair in 2020, with four remaining: Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Yekaterinburg, Russia; İzmir, Turkey; or São Paulo, Brazil.

[368] The following cities lodged bids to the BIE for hosting the 2020 EXPO: São Paulo was eliminated from contention after the first round of votes.

[377] On 27 November 2013, when Dubai won the right to host the Expo 2020, fireworks erupted at the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa.

[379] The Russian bid The Global Mind would have run from 1 May to 31 October, and would have been the second-largest expo (after 2010 in Shanghai) and was intended to "survey world opinion through seven universal questions".

[383] A Brazilian expo would have been called Power of Diversity, Harmony for Growth,[384] run from 15 May to 15 November, and would have covered 502 hectares.

[398] Later that year, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE, announced that the COP28 Climate Summit would be held in Expo City Dubai.

Expo City Dubai will also feature an education program where students can participate in a number of experiences, exhibits and interactive workshops.