Milan Chosen to Host 2015 World's Fair

PARIS – The northern Italian city of Milan was chosen Monday as the site of the 2015 World's Fair.

Milan won out over the Turkish port city of Izmir in a vote of 86-65 by members of the Paris-based International Exhibitions Bureau.

In Izmir, crowds waving flags and mistakenly cheering prematurely for their city left the town square disappointed.

The broadbased theme proposed by winner Milan is "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life," touching on health, the environment and shaping sustainable human spaces of the future.

Celebrations were to be held in Milan's Piazza Duomo.

In Milan, Enrico Pazzali, general director of the city's Fiera, or convention and exhibition center, called the vote a "great victory." The Fiera is listed on the Milan stock exchange and its shares soared early Monday on expectations Milan would win.

"We're all very happy," Pazzali told Sky TG24. "It's like winning the Champions League (European soccer tournament) with a last-minute header."

"It really is a great satisfaction and it's certainly a great opportunity," he said.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said the decision made the whole country proud.

"Today's brilliant result rewards our common efforts ... and confirms that the excellency of Italy as a whole is fully recognized and appreciated at the international level," he said.

The 2012 World's Fair is being held in the South Korean city of Yeosu. Its theme is climate change.