Boris Johnson has drawn up a shortlist of prime locations for the World Expo as officials explore plans to bring the major event to London in 2025.
Barking Riverside, the Royal Docks, Meridian Water in Enfield and Heathrow Airport — if the hub closes — would all be considered by City Hall.
The potential regeneration opportunities for each area, or a combination of them, would be on the scale seen around the Olympic park.
Mr Johnson said: “A London bid for Expo 2025 would need to prove the same scale of ambition in regenerating a part of London, as well as a strong business case for promoting the UK on a global stage.”
He has thrown his weight behind the bid to bring the global exhibition back to London for the first time in more than 150 years and has already secured informal support from government and business.
The Mayor has given the go-ahead to a study of the business case and Greater London Authority consultants have visited Dubai, awarded the 2020 Expo, on a fact-finding mission.
“On the back of the tremendous success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, London has established itself as a world leader in hosting major cultural and sporting events,” he said.
“Combine that with our reputation as powerhouse of industry, science, technology and education, and I believe it makes sense to consider bidding for the World Expo in 2025.”
City Hall stressed that months of work lie ahead before a bid was even confirmed — and that London could be up against the likes of Paris, San Francisco and Toronto to host the exhibition.
But Mr Johnson is understood to be enthusiastic about the redevelopment potential for huge swaths of land across the capital.
Munira Mirza, deputy mayor for education and culture, told The Standard: “It would be a special event but we have to be confident that the impact on the ground is significant for the people who might be living there in future. There’s the possibility of new house-building, new jobs and bringing new areas of London to life.”
