DUBAI – The sky above the world’s tallest building was illuminated by fireworks on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 26, as Dubai was named host city of the Expo 2020.

The city, part of the United Arab Emirates, fought off competition from Brazil, Turkey and Russia in its much-hyped bid to run the exhibition.

The exposition is an acclaimed international fair for trade goods and art.

The first World Expo was held in 1851. It generally takes place every five years. The expositions are billed as the “equivalent of a world tour for their visitors” with pavilions from across the globe on show.

Fireworks popped around Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, as the announcement was made thousands of kilometers away in Paris.

Dubai is now expected to spend billions of dollars preparing for the World Expo, according to industry estimates.

The victory was announced after a vote in Paris by member states of the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE), which organizes the World Expo events.

Dubai received 47.24 percent of the total votes in the first round, in which Sao Paulo scored just 7.98 percent.

In the second round, Dubai got 52.73 percent of the vote followed by Russia (24.85 percent) and Izmir (21.82 percent).

Dubai and Ekaterinburg in Russia went through to the final round.

Earlier in the day, the four shortlisted cities gave their final presentations, with each given just 20 minutes to make their case.

Dubai is set to spend almost $8.1 billion on infrastructure projects ahead of the Expo 2020 if its bid is successful, Bloomberg reported.

Total spending could exceed $15 billion, according to Mohammad Kamal, director of equity research at Arqaam Capital.