Just catching up on the news of the selection of Stresa for World Expo 2014 and I'm posting here to say: Bravo!
The best trip of my life was to that area of Northern Italy; it is one of the most beautiful places in the world, one of the least touristy areas of Italy, rich in Napoleonic and other history, with incredible food -- the best I ever have eaten, and I know from eating. Alessandria and Turin are nearby and are incredible cities to visit; also close: Lake Como, which is, pretty much, paradise on earth. (Ask George Clooney, who has a villa there.) Milan is a great airport and very convenient. All told, this is a vacation trip that significant others will thank you for through the rest of your life, and that sure makes selling the expense of traveling to World Expo from abroad A LOT easier. And it also would seem central to many points in Europe.
As to an American bid for the expo -- because some modelers have groused in other forums that it has been too long since the expo was held in the states -- the Military Miniature Society of Illinois has raised the topic among its membership and the officers will continue seriously discussing it for 2017. As previous expo organizers will amply attest, it is a tremendous amount of work to put a bid together, with months -- nay, years -- of effort required. Just look at the extraordinary job that Monreale did for their 2014 bid. All modelers should thank them for their hard work, and console them in being edged out by the close vote that awarded the site to Stresa. We all owe them a drink! As we do all expo organizers past, present, and future.
In any event, if interest and energy remain high, Chicago may put a bid in to bring the expo back to the states in 2017. It would have been impossible to get even one-tenth of a proposal together in time for 2014, but the following expo is well within reach. This would require the help of modelers from across the U.S. -- as Boston and D.C. did in the past -- and, indeed, from our modeling friends around the world. All will be welcome to contribute if/when Chicago bid planning gets under way and becomes more formalized. At that time, we'll set up a site on the Web to solicit opinions, help, and feedback. (And, having missed the MMSI January meeting, I can say that with authority since, in my absence, the Chicago club voted me "electronic secretary." Whee!)
As I wrote in my World Expo 2011 Report in the current issue of Figure International, this event truly is the most extraordinary in our hobby -- no matter where it is held. And we all should celebrate that and keep the Olympics-like international politics out of it. There is plenty of work for anyone who wants to pitch in anywhere the expo is held. And, as an investigative reporter for part of the time in the day job, I can say I never have seen any hint of conspiracy to keep the expo on any continent and away from any other. I think if Antarctica put in a great bid, Antarctica would be considered! And heck, that could be an amazing place to visit, too! (Do penguins enjoy figure painting? We could find out.)
Vive l'Expo! And onward to Stresa!