Savez ekonomista Srbije http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode eng application/pdf 365620 bytes Abstract: With a history of over 130 years, World Exhibitions (EXPOs) have positioned themselves as a channel and tool for implementing the concept of soft power and nation branding. The EXPO 2020 Dubai is the first mega event organized live in the post-COVID period for regular visitors, and the figure of over 24 million visits justified the expectations of Dubai and the UAE in terms of communicating key messages of soft power and positioning the destination. On the other hand, the host’s significant investments in the amount of over 7.7 billion dollars during the preparatory and event period will be justified through long-term legacy economic effects amounting to over 42 billion dollars and over 1 million jobs. In addition to the large number of participants, Serbia also had its own pavilion. The focus of its participation, through the aspects of soft power and nation branding, has been on the further establishment of high political-economic relations with the host country, along with the activities aimed at building the destination’s image as a regional center of the Western Balkans in the fields of science, business, and development activities. The paper presents key concepts of soft power and nation branding, key specifics of EXPO organization, examples in the field of national brand communication for selected participating countries, as well as key indicators regarding the organization of EXPO 2020 Dubai and Serbia’s success as a participating country. Sažetak: Sa istorijom održavanja od preko 130 godina, svetske izložbe (EXPO) su se pozicionirale kao kanal i alat za implementaciju koncepta meke moći i nacionalnog brendiranja. EXPO 2020 Dubai je prvi mega događaj koji je organizovan u post-COVID periodu za redovne posetioce i cifra od preko 24 miliona poseta opravdala je očekivanja Dubaija i UAE u pogledu plasiranja ključnih poruka meke moći i pozicioniranja destinacije. Sa druge strane, značajne investicije domaćina u iznosu od preko 7,7 milijardi dolara tokom pripremnog i perioda održavanja događaja će se opravdati kroz dugoročne ekonomske efekte koji iznose preko 42 milijarde dolara i preko 1 milion radnih mesta. Pored velikog broja učesnika, i Srbija je imala svoj paviljon. Fokus nastupa, kroz aspekt meke moći i nacionalnog brendiranja, bio je baziran na daljem etabiliranju visokih političkoekonomskih odnosa sa zemljom domaćina, uz aktivnosti izgradnje slike destinacije kao regionalnog centra Zapadnog Balkana u domenu nauke, biznisa i razvojnih aktivnosti. U radu su predstavljeni ključni koncepti meke moći i nacionalnog brendiranja, ključne specifičnosti organizacije EXPO, primeri u domenu komuniciranja nacionalnog brenda za selektirane zemlje učesnice, kao i ključni indikatori organizovanja EXPO 2020 Dubai te indikatori uspešnosti nastupa Srbije kao zemlje učesnice. Keywords: EXPO, world exhibitions, EXPO 2020 Dubai, soft power, nation brand Ključne reči: EXPO, svetska izložba, EXPO 2020 Dubai, meka moć, nacionalni brend World exhibition (EXPO) as a nation branding and soft power platform: The case of Serbia's participation at EXPO 2020 Dubai https://phaidrabg.bg.ac.rs/o:35574 doi:10.5937/EKOPRE2404245K ISSN: 0353-443X 2024 Economics of enterprise volume: 72 number: 3-4 startpage: 245 endpage: 252 Kovačević, Igor Hristov Stančić, Branislava Zečević, Bojan info:eu-repo/semantics/article