The UAE last night celebrated the selection of Dubai as the venue for the World Expo 2020 with a fireworks display in Downtown Dubai as thousands of people came out on to the street holding the national flag.

Dubai beat Russia's Ekaterinburg in the final round of voting yesterday, winning the support of 116 out of the 164 voting members of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).

People partied across the UAE till late in the night. There were victory celebrations in Paris as well.

Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, became the centrepiece for the fireworks display.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, announced that Thursday  (November 28), will be a holiday for all educational institutions across the UAE. There was wide speculation that Thursday will be declared a public holiday at least in Dubai. However, there was no such announcement.

Dubai's win brings to a close two years of hard work and planning and the city will now embark on a massive infrastructure development programme for the Expo.

All sections of the population have welcomed Dubai's win and hope that it will bring greater growth to the economy, resulting in more jobs, higher real estate prices and better infrastructure. - TradeArabia News Service