The City of Izmir, Turkey became the first city to officially bid for the right to host the larger-size 6-month Expo 2015. Izmir's proposed theme for the 6-month exposition is "New Routes to a Better World/Health for All." If successful, 2015 would see the first international exposition ever held in Turkey. Milan, Italy officially bid for Expo 2015 on 30 October 2006. They're proposing the theme "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life."

IZMIR

İzmir is the inheritor of almost 3,500 years of urban past, and possibly up to that much more in terms of advanced human settlement patterns. It is Turkey's first port for exports and its free zone, a Turkish-U.S. joint-venture established in 1990, is the leader among the twenty that Turkey counts. Its workforce, and particularly its rising class of young professionals, concentrated either in the city or in its immediate vicinity (such as in Manisa), and under either larger companies or SME's, affirm their name in an increasingly wider global scale and intensityİzmir is widely regarded as one of the most liberal Turkish cities in terms of values, ideology, lifestyle, dynamism and gender roles.

The city hosts an international arts festival during June and July, and the İzmir International Fair, one among the city's many fair and exhibition events, is held in the beginning of September every year. It is served by national and international flights through Adnan Menderes Airport and there is a modern rapid transit line running Southwest to Northeast. İzmir hosted the Mediterranean Games in 1971 and the World University Games (Universiade) in 2005. The House of the Virgin Mary located in a nature park between Ephesus Izmir, is believed to be the last residence of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. The peaceful site is sacred to both Christians and Muslims, and is visited by many tourists and pilgrims.

MILANO

Milano has a population of 1.3 million.. Finally, the population of the Milan metropolitan area counts over 7.5 million residents, the largest in Italy . The municipal border covers a relatively small area (about one-eighth of that of Rome) because of the historical development of high density centres in agriculturally rich Lombardy. Milan is also well known as the seat of the Alfa Romeo motorcar company, for its silk production, and as one of the world's capitals for fashion and a world leader for design.

Milano also provides directional functions for the whole of Lombardy, as its industrial base has been externalized throughout the region in the 1960s-70s.FieraMilano, the city's Exhibition Centre and Trade Fair complex, is notable. The original fairground, known as "FieraMilanoCity", is slated for redevelopment. The new fairground, in the north-western suburb of Rho, opened in April 2005, making the Fiera Milano the largest trade fair complex in the world. Milano is one of the major financial and business centres of the world. The city is the seat of the Italian Stock Exchange (the Borsa Italiana)"Piazza Affari" and its hinterland is an avant-garde industrial area. At present, Milan is experiencing a significant architectural and urban design renaissance. Many new construction projects are under way with the aim of rehabilitating disused, peripheral industrial areas, including entire quarters.

EXPO HISTORY

World’s Fairs have excited and inspired millions of people around the world by expressing the hopes and desires of their times. Perhaps unwittingly, they also provide a fascinating glimpse into the realities of those same times.

Expo (also known as World Fair and World's Fair) is the name of various large public exhibitions held since the mid-19th century.

Today, world expositions are the third largest event in the world in terms of economic and cultural impact, after the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games. They have been organized for more than one and a half centuries — longer than both the (modern) Olympic Games and the World Cup. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, in 1851 under the title “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations”. The “Great Exhibition” as it is often called was an idea of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, and was the first international exhibition of manufactured products. As such, it influenced the development of several aspects of society including art and design education, international trade and relations, and even tourism. Also, it was the precedent for the many international exhibitions, later called “World’s Fairs”, which were subsequently held until the present day.

• 1851 London (United Kingdom) • 1855 Paris (France) • 1862 London (United Kingdom) • 1867 Paris (France) • 1873 Vienna (Austria) • 1876 Philadelphia (United States) • 1878 Paris (France) • 1880 Melbourne (Australia) • 1884 New Orleans (United States) • 1888 Barcelona (Spain) • 1889 Paris (France) • 1893 Chicago (United States) • 1896 Budapest (Hungary) • 1897 Brussels and Stockholm (Sweden) • 1900 Paris (France) • 1901 Charleston (United States) • 1904 St. Louis (United States) • 1905 Liège (Belgium) • 1906 Milan (Italy) • 1910 Brussels (Belgium) • 1911 Turin (Italy) • 1913 Ghent (Belgium) • 1914 Lyon (France) • 1915 San Francisco (United States) • 1915 San Diego (United States) • 1929 Barcelona (Spain)

• 1933 Chicago (United States) • 1937 Paris (France) • 1939 New York City (United States) • 1939-1940 San Francisco (United States) • 1958 Brussels (Belgium) • 1960 Seattle (United States) • 1962 Seattle (United States) • 1964 New York (United States) • 1967 Montreal (Canada) • 1968 San Antonio (United States) • 1970 Osaka (Japan) • 1974 Spokane (United States) • 1982 Knoxville (United States) • 1984 New Orleans (United States) • 1985 Tsukuba (Japan) • 1986 Vancouver (Canada) • 1988 Brisbane (Australia) • 1990 Osaka (Japan) • 1992 Seville (Spain) • 1993 Daejon (South Korea) • 1998 Lisbon (Portugal) • 2000 Hanover (Germany) • 2005 Aichi (Japan) • 2008 Zaragoza (Spain) • 2010 Shanghai (China) • 2012 Yeosu (South Korea)