Riyadh-based specialist advisory and delivery platform brings more than 70 years of combined experience across nine World Expo cycles to Saudi Arabia
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, September 1, 2026: As Saudi Arabia accelerates preparations to host Expo 2030 Riyadh, specialist World Expo advisory and delivery platform nuwa has officially launched in the Saudi capital, positioning itself to connect Saudi businesses, brands and investors with the growing commercial opportunities surrounding one of the world’s largest international events.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is expected to generate significant economic activity across the Kingdom, with the Public Investment Fund projecting that the event could contribute close to $70 billion to Saudi Arabia’s economy. Around 42 million visits are expected during the six-month event, creating opportunities across infrastructure, technology, visitor experiences, events and entertainment, brand activations, and pavilion design, construction and delivery.
nuwa has been established to help Saudi businesses and investors prepare early for these opportunities, while also supporting international participants and organisations entering the Kingdom as they develop and deliver their Expo programmes.
The scale of Expo 2030 Riyadh is already becoming clear. A total of 197 nations have been invited to participate, with 135 confirmed as of June 2026. The event will be staged across a six-million-square-metre site at Wadi Al Sulai, bringing together countries, organisations, businesses and millions of visitors from around the world.
With an immovable opening date and years of planning required before the event begins, nuwa believes that preparation across the private sector must begin well in advance of the peak delivery phase.
World Expos operate on a long and highly structured delivery cycle, with decisions progressively made by governments, organising committees, international participants, brands and delivery partners. By the time procurement and construction reach their most intensive stages, companies are expected to already have the experience, capabilities and partnerships required to deliver at a world-class level.
nuwa brings together professionals who have worked across the complete lifecycle of World Expos, from feasibility studies and bidding processes to organising committee planning, international participation, commercial programmes, operations and live event delivery.
Collectively, its team and expert network bring more than 70 years of experience across nine Expo cycles. Its advisory panel includes professionals who have held mandates covering organising committees, international participant pavilions, brand activations, onsite events and entertainment programmes.
“Having worked on a World Expo from the initial feasibility study through the bid, organising committee and ultimately live delivery, you see very clearly how the critical path develops long before opening day,” said Kailash Nagdev, co-founder of nuwa.
“That means the market needs to build capability in parallel. The opening date does not move. That is what makes preparation so important; once delivery begins at scale, the expectation is world-class performance from day one.”
For Saudi businesses, brands and investors, nuwa provides insight into how World Expos operate, where commercial opportunities emerge, when key decisions are made and which capabilities need to be developed in advance.
For international participants and organisations entering Saudi Arabia, the company provides on-the-ground advisory support to help navigate the local market, identify and assess suppliers and contractors, and support the delivery of programmes within the Kingdom.
This position gives nuwa visibility across both sides of the Expo ecosystem: international organisations bringing programmes and investment into Riyadh, and Saudi companies building the capabilities required to support and deliver them.
“International participants experience an Expo very differently from the organising committee,” said Manal AlBayat, Board Member and Senior Advisor at nuwa.
“Each country is effectively developing its own programme, from the pavilion and visitor experience to events, operations, partners and suppliers, while navigating a host market that may be new to them.
“Having worked across the Expo lifecycle, I have seen how much stronger participation becomes when countries engage with the local ecosystem early. It gives them time to understand the market, identify the right partners and suppliers, and build the relationships needed to deliver their participation with confidence and success.”
The momentum surrounding the global Expo ecosystem is already evident. Sixty-four nations that participated in both Expo 2020 Dubai and Expo 2025 Osaka are already confirmed for Expo 2027 Belgrade, highlighting how international delivery networks, advisers, operators and suppliers often move through multiple Expo cycles.
For many of these organisations, Riyadh will represent the next major chapter in an international Expo delivery journey that is already underway years before 2030.
“World Expos create an unusually complex marketplace,” said Anthony Banerjee, co-founder of nuwa.
“International participants need credible local partners and suppliers, while Saudi companies need to understand opportunities that often develop years before delivery. nuwa sits between those two sides, combining practical Expo experience with on-the-ground understanding of the Saudi market.”
Operating from Riyadh, nuwa combines international Expo expertise with professional services and delivery experience in Saudi Arabia. Its launch comes as preparations for Expo 2030 Riyadh move into an increasingly active phase.
The first International Participants Meeting for Expo 2030 Riyadh is scheduled to take place on November 3 and 4, 2026, bringing together participating countries, international organisations and key stakeholders as planning, onboarding and pavilion delivery progress into the next stage.
With the global Expo community beginning to mobilise and Saudi Arabia’s private sector preparing for one of the Kingdom’s most significant international events, nuwa aims to play a central role in connecting global expertise with local capability and helping organisations prepare for the road to Expo 2030 Riyadh.
