The United States for the first time is set to host an international horticultural exposition, and it will happen in Dakota County.
Expo 2031 Minnesota USA is expected to bring in millions of visitors — and tourism dollars — to the area over a six-month period.
When it’s all over, the expo could leave behind a legacy including a pollinator-shaped lake.
“It’s the ‘American dream’ story, right?” says Wendy Meadley, CEO of Expo 2031 Minnesota USA, the nonprofit serving as the organizing entity. “It’s the story of, ‘You can build it in America in a unique way.’”
The plans, building and otherwise, are taking root now that the Trump administration has formally confirmed its support and approval of the expo and all it entails culturally, diplomatically and economically.
“The Trump Administration is proud to provide the United States’ confirmation of support and to bring this historic international exhibition to the United States,” wrote Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, in a Nov. 7 letter to the International Association of Horticulture Producers.
It’s a big deal: In a recent newsletter to constituents, Joe Atkins, a member of the Dakota County Board of Commissioners, described it as “the horticulture world’s equivalent of a World’s Fair.”
Meadley agrees.
“It sets Minnesota on a global stage forever,” she says. “So, if you’ve heard of the Seattle needle, that’s the World’s Fair legacy of Seattle … it sets you on a global stage and it brings 60 leaders from 60 countries here, hosted by our country in Minnesota. … There will be all kinds of new business opportunities that haven’t ever existed. And you know, what a perfect place to host it.”
The last time a World’s Fair was held in the United States, in New Orleans, was in 1984.
A proposed location for this upcoming expo, on farmland in Rosemount, was discussed at a Port Authority meeting on Oct. 21 when Meadley gave a presentation about it, but nothing has been decided yet.
It takes time to develop plans on all levels for an event this large. It was back in September, at the 77th Annual International Association of Horticulture Producers Congress in Belgium, when members provisionally approved Expo 2031 Minnesota USA as the host of an A1 International Horticultural Exposition — A1, Meadley explains, is what gives it that world classification.
The association was founded as the Association Internationale des Producteurs de l’Horticulture by growers in Europe after World War II, with its plant-based mission expanding and continuing today.
With federal support confirmed earlier this month, 2031 plans are proceeding.
Six-month event
There’s a lot to plan: The six-month international event, to be held from May 1 to Oct. 15 six years from now, will draw people from around the world to focus together on plants, people and innovation.
The expo is expected to bring together global leaders and showcase the future of horticulture, agriculture, resilient energy infrastructure, food and water systems, health and wellbeing and future technologies.
What will this mean for Dakota County? In a post on social media on Nov. 25, Commissioner Atkins explained what it hasn’t meant:
“They have not asked Dakota County for a single tax dollar,” Atkins wrote in a post on Dakota County’s Facebook page.
As for what it will entail, details such as the pollinator-shaped lake are still emerging, but Atkins added that, based on past expos, projections include 6 million visitors and, with them, $1 billion-plus in private investment and economic activity, including boosts for local restaurants, hotels and shops and thousands of jobs in construction, hospitality, transportation and tourism. Atkins also noted that expo sites often leave behind permanent parks, gardens, trails and educational facilities.
The expo’s 2031 theme is “Human/Nature: Where Humanity and Horticulture Meet.” Plans include climate-aligned biodomes, global country gardens and pavilions, horticultural innovation showcases and a “multi-acre legacy smart city district” that will continue on past 2031.
During the expo, there will be plenty of other features for the general public, too, from shuttle rides to good food.
“Think about it being a theme park without the rides,” Meadley says.
Before heading to Minnesota, the expo will be held in Japan in 2027 and Thailand in 2029.
Learn more at expo2031.org.
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