Wendy Meadley is CEO and principal visionary of Expo 2031 Minnesota USA, America’s first A1 International Horticultural Exposition & Future Living District. Expo 2031 Minnesota USA has been approved by the International Association of Horticultural Producers and by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Between now and 2031, expositions are also planned for Yokohama in 2027 and Thailand in 2029-2030.
Expo 2031 will run from May to October, 2031 on a 130 to 160 acre site in Dakota Country. The exact location is a closely held secret that will be revealed in the next 60 days. A consortium of architects led by SRF Consulting Group will ensure that the physical foundation for Expo 2031 reflects the best of Minnesota. Partners have been recruited in eight different areas and the leaders of each area constitute a council that will be meeting quarterly in 2026.
Expo 2031 will add a number of permanent buildings, including a hotel, convention center, pavilion, and broadcast center as well as many structures built just for the Expo. Included in these temporary structures will be five biodomes that will allow visitors to experience five different climactic zones—an arid zone, a tropical zone, a temperate zone, a continental zone and the north star zone celebrating Minnesota’s living identity.
The official theme for Expo 2031 is Human/Nature—Where Humanity and Horticulture Meet. Expo 2031 is planning for over four million visitors during the May to October run. When asked about transportation for visitors, Wendy noted that they are working to build on the transportation system used for the Minnesota State Fair. (After the meeting I asked her what was going to happen to that model during the actual run of the State Fair to which she responded that was one of the many things that keep her awake at night.) She also noted that many of the transportation providers for the State Fair take a vacation pointing out the difficulty of extending a system that works for 12 days to one that works for six months.