Chinese and Russian influence: how Malaga lost Expo 2027

Why did Malaga lose Expo 2027? What made Serbia's proposal the most voted from the first round in the assembly of countries of the International Bureau of Exhibitions? What strings could have been pulled so that an international exhibition project based on the themes of sport and music received such a majority backing?

These questions are on the minds of many Malaga residents and, in particular, those responsible for the Spanish bid for Expo 2027, who were demoralised on Thursday to realise that they had come very close to achieving their dream.

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Only 11 votes separated Malaga's bid from that of Belgrade in the final vote (81 to 70). Now it is believed that China played a large role in Serbia's bid based, in part, on a drone video showing Chinese engineers at the Belgrade expo site.

"China is fully involved in the realisation of the Expo in Serbia," some of those responsible for the Spanish candidature said. They do not rule out the theory that the Asian giant has put pressure on countries, possibly together with its ally Russia, where it has economic influence.

Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, said on Wednesday that the Costa del Sol bid could have lost due to "geopolitical manoeuvres" that benefited Serbia.

He concluded that there had been a Serbian alliance with China and Russia to strengthen its candidacy.

"On paper we had more support, but it's clear that [Serbia] was playing an underground game that we didn't know about," said De la Torre.