Few sites in the world have faced back-to-back mega-event stress tests quite like Expo City Dubai. First came Expo 2020 – a six-month World Expo welcoming over 24 million visits across 438 hectares, delivered against the backdrop of a global pandemic. Then came COP28, the largest United Nations climate conference in history, drawing over 80,000 accredited participants and more than 150 heads of state to the same address. Together, these two events have produced a soft FM playbook unlike any other in the region. In an exclusive interview with Clean Middle East, John Cole – Director of Assets, Property and Support Services, Expo City, Dubai defines the true essence of long term resilience in facilities management. 

Q1  What does 'long-term resilience' truly mean in soft FM? 

Long-term resilience in soft FM is an organisation's capacity to tackle economic, environmental and social challenges and emerge stronger.  

At Expo 2020 Dubai, this was tested in real time. Delivering world-class cleaning, hospitality and support services across a complex multi-district site while navigating a global pandemic required resilience that was structural rather than improvised. COP28 was an equally demanding test on a tighter timeline. Transforming Expo City's FM infrastructure from steady-state community operations to a high-security international summit environment that catered to 80,000-plus international delegates required the kind of operational agility that cannot be built from scratch.  

From Expo 2020 to COP28 just a year and a half after later, plus adapting to and fulfilling the long-term vision for Expo City as the new centre of Dubai’s future, there is compelling evidence that long-term FM resilience is achievable – and we continue to demonstrate that in practice today as our city evolves.  

Q2  How can soft FM providers build resilience into workforce planning? 

The workforce is at the heart of soft FM, and Expo 2020 mobilised thousands in cleaning, housekeeping, waste management and guest services across three districts, each with distinct visitor profiles and service rhythms. Recruiting and retaining this workforce during a period of global labour disruption was a significant operational achievement.  

COP28 then demanded a rapid, large-scale workforce surge with the added complexity of heightened security protocols, diplomatic delegate requirements and an extensive international media presence. The ability to scale workforce deployment at speed – without compromising service quality – is only possible when workforce pipelines, cross-skilling programmes and deployment frameworks are already embedded in normal operations.  

For Expo City Dubai, workforce resilience has been designed into the operating model, which will continue to be an asset as the city grows as a residential community and commercial hub. There is also a strong opportunity to leverage Emiratisation as a catalyst to invest in talent development and retention programmes, building teams that are both more stable and more strategically aligned. 

Q3  In what ways can technology strengthen cleaning and support services? 

Expo City was conceived as a city of the future, and its FM operations reflect this, dating back to its first chapter as a World Expo site. IoT-enabled sensors monitored footfall in real time, allowing cleaning frequencies to be dynamically adjusted based on actual visitor density. Robotic cleaning equipment maintained hygiene standards in high traffic corridors. Digital inspection platforms enabled supervisors to log quality audits via mobile and to escalate issues for resolution before they impacted visitor experience. 

COP28 validated and expanded this technological infrastructure. Managing cleaning schedules, consumable logistics and waste management operations for 80,000-plus delegates across two different zones required real-time situational awareness and a digitally integrated FM operation.  

Expo City Dubai is now building on these foundations, with predictive maintenance systems, AI-driven scheduling and smart building integrations positioning the city as one of the most technologically advanced urban FM environments in the region. 

Q4  How should soft FM leaders rethink supply chain strategy? 

The pandemic exposed how thin many FM supply chains had become. Like many organisations and events impacted by the pandemic’s strain on global logistics networks, procurement teams at Expo 2020 were forced to rapidly source alternative suppliers for cleaning chemicals, PPE and consumables. This was a valuable lesson on the importance of contingency planning, building supply chain resilience as a standing discipline rather than an improvised response.   

Fast forward to COP28 in late 2023, our ‘Plan B’ scenario was now institutionalised so supply chain management had been significantly strengthened. Pre-qualified alternative suppliers, a strategic buffer stock for high-risk consumable categories, and closer regional sourcing relationships enabled the operational team to confidently focus on service delivery.  

Dubai's shift to a self-sustaining regional logistics and manufacturing hub has successfully developed more efficient FM procurement frameworks that leverage the UAE's own infrastructure, reducing import dependency and enabling organising to achieve better value and faster delivery times compared to traditional international supply chains. 

Q5  What role does training and upskilling play in future-proofing the workforce? 

Training and upskilling are key and must keep pace and align with the needs of the space and its users.  

Expo 2020 set a global standard for visitor experience, and the soft FM workforce was central to delivering it thanks to the training provided. This went beyond technical cleaning and housekeeping protocols to include cultural sensitivity, guest engagement and sustainability practices – skills that are applicable to all contexts.  

Similarly, COP28 necessitated staff familiarity with the specific protocols of a Blue Zone environment. For this restricted access area, managed solely by UN with intricate cultural and procedural complexity, we developed and delivered continuous, structured upskilling programmes, adapting to and aligning with UN requirements.  

While these were unique events, they were a pathway to lifelong skills that continue to be relevant for a new urban centre that serves residents, multinational organisations, start-ups, tourists and more. As we continue to develop Expo City’s long-term FM model, mobile-enabled, multilingual learning platforms and modular competency frameworks are operational necessities. 

Q6  How can soft FM transition from a cost-driven to a value-driven function? 

One of Expo 2020's most significant legacies – which carried through to COP28 – is the elevation of soft FM from a background function to a significant contributor to visitor satisfaction scores, environmental certifications and the global reputation of the event. Likewise, Expo City Dubai is linking FM performance to strategic priorities: occupant wellbeing, ESG ratings, asset preservation and community trust. Outcome-based contracts, co-developed between the city's asset management function and its FM providers, create the commercial framework for this value-driven approach to endure as the site matures. 

Q7  What are the biggest risks to resilience in the Middle East's soft FM sector? 

Many in the region will continue grappling with workforce supply challenges driven by rapid rates of nationalisation, evolving visa regulations and greater competition for skilled workers with the launch of more mega-projects. These human resource pressures are compounded by challenges posed by the physical environment; the region’s arid climate requires specialist cleaning protocols, equipment selection and occupational health provisions that add genuine operational complexity. However, those organisations that prioritise long-term planning and simultaneously invest in workforce development and talent retention will find themselves comfortable navigating these challenges.  

Q8  How can sustainability initiatives contribute to both resilience and efficiency? 

Sustainability and FM resilience and efficiency can no longer be treated as parallel tracks – they must converge into one operational track. 

Sustainability was structurally embedded in the World Expo’s design and ethos. For soft FM, that translated into green-certified product specifications, water-efficient cleaning methodologies, and waste segregation programmes targeting landfill diversion, to name a few. Expo City Dubai’s hosting of COP28 likewise reinforced the importance of aligning the summit's ambitions with day-to-day environmental performance across cleaning, waste and resource management.  

Expo City’s decarbonisation roadmap, launched in 2023 and targeting net zero by 2050, sets the framework through which FM providers must operate. Water conservation, concentrated and waterless chemical formulations, solar-powered equipment and real-time waste analytics are now standard in the city, and help to reduce resource dependency and lower costs as well as strengthen ESG results.  

Q9  What lessons from recent crises are shaping future FM strategies? 

Expo 2020 Dubai holds the rare distinction of being one of the first mega-events to take place after the outbreak of COVID-19. The enhanced cleaning regimes, infection control protocols and health screening infrastructure deployed before and during the World Expo raised the baseline expectation for hygiene standards in large-scale FM across the region. Beyond hygiene, the event demonstrated the value of scenario planning, clear command structures and cross-functional coordination under pressure. 

COP28 was then a large-scale event delivered with a compressed timeline and 100-plus heads of state and government present. It was an extraordinary lesson in facilities management, particularly around workforce mobilisation speed, supply chain pre-positioning and the integration of security and FM operations in a complex site environment.  

Recent challenges such as inflation, geopolitical disruption and evolving client expectations have reinforced a further lesson: fixed-price, multi-year contracts with no cost-indexation provisions do not work. Today’s soft FM industry today is more commercially mature, more operationally prepared, and more aligned with current economic conditions. 

Q10  How can collaboration strengthen resilience across the FM ecosystem? 

Collaboration was crucial to the success of Expo 2020 and COP28, and that spirit is instilled in our DNA at Expo City. It is important to engage FM providers as strategic partners in asset management planning and enable regulators to be active participants in setting and enforcing sustainability and safety standards across the site. As Expo City Dubai grows, collaborating with residents, commercial tenants and event stakeholders and familiarising them with our FM culture and community standards will help drive continued resilience.