[Source: AIPH, 8th March) The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) gave its approval for a Category B International Horticultural Exhibition in the city of Udon Thani, Thailand for 2026.

The approval took place at the AIPH General Meeting on 8 March in accordance with the AIPH Regulations for International Horticultural Exhibitions.

Thrilled to gain approval

The Governor of Udon Thani, Mr Siam Sirimongkol, is thrilled to learn that their city has gained full support.

Mr Sirimongkol says: “As the agricultural business and trading centre of the Greater Mekong Region, Udon Thani is exceptionally proud to bring AIPH’s International Horticultural Expo back to Thailand. The event will be called ‘The Garden of Mekong’ to celebrate the abundance of the Mekong wetland, where people are blessed with biodiversity and harmony. This prestigious global event with the central theme “Diversity of Life: People, Water and Plants” will bring well-deserved attention to our fertile but fragile land on the great international river where our ancestors have learnt co-living for millennia.

“We are aiming to achieve at least 13 out of 17 UN Sustainability Development Goals, with this Expo. Udon Thani will be delighted to welcome our friends of the Mekong, the ASEAN community and the people across the globe to visit the Expo.

“The 164.8-hectares expo site encompasses a small lake to showcase the mesmerising Mekong wetland. We hope the world will get to know the diversity along the Mekong and be inspired by our sustainable way of living.”

A world stage to promote the relationship between people and plants

AIPH Secretary General, Mr Tim Briercliffe, says: “Expo 2026 will introduce Udon Thani and the horticulture of this region to the global stage. The event will create opportunities to exchange knowledge and technological advancement as well as promoting city greening and the importance of the relationship between people and plants.”

The approval for Udon-Thani International Horticultural Expo 2026 comes after a successful site inspection in February and an excellent presentation by the Udon Thani Expo organising team at the AIPH Expo Conference on 7 March.

A commitment to sustainable living

AIPH approved the Thai proposal for the International Horticultural Expo 2026 will be hosted in Udon Thani province from 1 November 2026 to 14 March 2027. The inspiration for the Expo’s theme “Diversity of Life: Connecting Water, Plants, and People” reflects the unique wetland area and the people living here. Their connection with the water and natural resources and the need to promote sustainable living will be the Expo’s main goal.

Presenting Udon Thani Expo’s proposal to host an International Horticultural Expo at the AIPH Spring Meeting was H.E. Dr Chalermchai Sree-on, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives. He is head of the Thai delegation.

He expressed his appreciation on behalf of the Thai government to the AIPH members for the trust and support given to Thailand and cited the success upon a fruitful collaboration among various government agencies and private organisations, led by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization) or TCEB and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

According to Dr Chalermchai, Thailand is committed to contributing to global food security through the Three Sustainable ‘3S’ farming and food policy, which brings attention to Food Safety, Food Security, and Sustainability. This declaration is guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals while adhering to the climate aspiration of the 2015 Paris Agreement. Such commitment can serve the theme and presentation of the Expo in Udon Thani and will help shed light on sustainability innovations, and, inspire and ignite collaboration on global actionable measures towards sustainability living with minimal cost to the ecosystem.

Guaranteeing a diverse display of cultures and floras

Mr Sirimongkol reaffirmed the city’s readiness to ensure the success of the Expo. He says: “The Udon Thani Expo 2026 will be the first International Horticultural Expo ever held in a wetland area. Furthermore, the province’s status as the gateway to the Greater Mekong Subregion and a transportation and economic hub of the area will guarantee a diverse display of cultures and floras befitting the theme.”

Mr Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), who represented Thailand in the official bid for the Expo, expressed Thailand’s confidence in hosting the landmark global event, portraying the success of the past two horticultural expos hosted by Thailand in Chiang Mai province.

He also emphasised the government’s development strategy and national agenda to promote the Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model (BCG) as a new development model that seeks to drive socio-economic growth while minimizing and even reversing the negative impacts on the environment. The strategy will be of great contribution to Udon Thani International Horticultural Expo 2026.

The Udon Thani Expo 2026 is expected to cost 2,500 million baht in investment and attract 3.6 million visitors over 134 days during the expo.

For more information about Udon Thani International Horticultural Expo 2026, and future forthcoming AIPH approved International Horticultural Expos visit www.aiph.org/expos.

Host City: What is the main aim of Thailand’s event hosting strategy – is it direct economic impact or wider societal benefits?

Weerasak Kowsurat: We never draw any international games to the country for economic purpose. This happens afterwards, when you see people coming to the city and spending money, but it is never placed there as the main objective of why we bid.

Every time we bid it is because we think that it is time to generate a spiritual atmosphere for the locals to attend and understand better about sports. It’s more on the social side.

It is not a stadium that makes the city that looks lively; it is the population, the people who, after the sports events happen, are inspired to do more activities – either economically, socially or culturally. And we find we have been very successful in that direction.

We don’t intend to always see people packing in a big major stadium somewhere – it happens naturally.

Host City: Do you have plans to build any major new venues?

Weerasak Kowsurat: We have decided to think a lot more seriously about whether there are requirements to build more sporting facilities, because we think that unless we have a better plan of how we are going to use those facilities after the mega event, then we would prefer to make use of what god gives. And you see that in the Tri-league – swimming, biking, running – this is happening more and more in Thailand and we are getting more international participants who want to come here, not only because they want to be at the championship but part of our society.

See, Thailand has been voted internationally as the friendliest country in the world for around ten consecutive years. It pleased a lot of people, including ourselves, that the scenery is nice but the better part is that the people are nice. They may not all be able to communicate in international languages, but the body language is so friendly that it absorbs almost any activity, either sports or non-sports.

Also the weather is so amenable to almost any kind of sport – except winter sports! Then we have all year round sporting activities happening all the time. We have been working with at least 600 run and ride events annually around the country. With a population of 70 million population, this means we have at least 1,000 attending each event around the country.

See, sporting is not about winning or losing. It is an activity that you do with others. That will help to mix diverse people, regionally, domestically and internationally.

Thailand received 35 million international visitors last year, including a million Americans. We have a great variety of people coming into the country. Sport events can be looked at as a way in the modern society for different people to mix together.

When you mix these kind of things together it will bring harmony: harmony for the guest and harmony for the host.

Host City: What kind of events are most important to Thailand – sports, business or cultural events?

Weerasak Kowsurat: We have 1.2 million MICE travellers coming to the country every year. But that is not the biggest portion of activities we have – the largest is people travelling for tourism generally.

Host City: Thailand has not hosted a major multisport event since the Asian Games in 1998. Are you still focusing on smaller championships or will you bid for mega events in the future?

Weerasak Kowsurat: We have been talking about the Youth Olympics, but it depends more on what we would like to achieve; and we need to consult more with our people and find out what they are most interested in.

Having all the big sport leaders coming into town at SportAccord gives us a chance to see the whole list of all sports available on the planet. Maybe it’s time for our generation to pick and choose what to try.

It’s not about competing to be the host city; it’s about what the people in the city want to do.

In Thailand, the sports facilities that already exist have room to grow; we don’t want them to sit idle. At the same time, we also have what god makes: we have very nice scenery, we have two oceans, we have mountains and plains; and the weather outside is so amenable to sport. So instead of throwing away billions of dollars building something in concrete, why don’t we get people to go out and be friendly in the local atmosphere.

Host City is Event Development Partner of SportAccord