Shanghai left with 19b yuan bill after Expo

World Expo 2010 left Shanghai almost 19 billion yuan (HK$23.03 billion) out of pocket once construction costs are included, and organisers used nearly 13 billion yuan in bonds and loans to pay for it, an official audit report has revealed.

Although the six-month mega fair made a 1.05 billion yuan operating profit, that was eclipsed by the 19.7 billion yuan cost of building the site.

The expo, which ran from May to November last year, drew 73 million visitors, the highest number in the event's 160-year history. The Shanghai government hailed it as a major success, but there have been lingering doubts about its massive cost.

The report, released by the Shanghai municipal audit bureau on Friday, showed the expo cost 31.7 billion yuan to build and run - 3.1 billion yuan more than its original budget.

Ticket sales were the event's main source of revenue, accounting for 7.36 billion yuan of the total 13 billion yuan in income. A further 3.97 billion yuan from sponsorship and advertising was the next biggest contributor, followed by 674 million yuan in franchising agreements.

The figures confirm the extent to which visitor numbers were driven by discounted and free tickets. Ticket sales work out at an average of just over 100 yuan per visitor, the price of a concessionary ticket. Standard tickets ranged from 200 yuan for full-price entry on specific days to 90 yuan for late entry in the evening. Even seven-day tickets cost 900 yuan, an average of 129 yuan per entry.

The municipal government handed out at least 10 million tickets - one for every Shanghai household - just before the opening of the event, and it is widely understood that more free or discounted tickets were channelled via state-owned enterprises.