EXPO 2031 MINNESOTA USA PRESENTS at 78th AIPH Annual Congress in Bari, Italy

Sep 14

5 min read

Expo 2031 leadership shares the next stage of America’s first A1 International Horticultural Exposition with the global horticulture community

BARI, ITALY / September 14, 2026

Expo 2031 Minnesota USA joined horticultural leaders, Expo organizers and industry partners from around the world at the 78th Annual Congress of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) in Bari, Italy, presenting the continued development of the United States’ first A1 International Horticultural Exposition.

Held September 13–17 in Italy’s Puglia region, the AIPH Annual Congress brought together growers, national horticultural associations, Expo organizers and international industry leaders to exchange knowledge, strengthen partnerships and explore the future of horticulture. Expo 2031 participated as part of the AIPH International Horticultural Expo Conference, where current and future AIPH-approved Expos shared their progress, ambitions and legacy strategies.

For Expo 2031 Minnesota USA, the Congress marked an important transition: from establishing the vision for an American A1 Expo to showing how that vision is now being translated into a place, an experience and a long-term platform for horticulture.

From an Approved Expo to a Sited Expo

Expo 2031 CEO Wendy Meadley introduced the next chapter of the project and its theme:

Human / Nature, Where Humanity and Horticulture Meet.

The presentation positioned Expo 2031 as more than a six-month international event. The ambition is to create a platform connecting horticulture with tourism, technology, agriculture, culture, commerce, education and the future of how people live and presented its secured site and proposed host city for governmental body confirmation.

At its center is a simple idea: bring the world to America and connect America to the global horticulture community.

“International Horticultural Expos have the ability to place plants at the center of conversations that extend far beyond our industry,” Meadley said. “Expo 2031 gives us an opportunity to connect horticulture with how people live, travel, eat, build communities and experience the natural world while creating a legacy that continues long after the Expo closes.”

Building the Place: Andy Mielke, SRF Consulting Group

Andy Mielke of SRF Consulting Group, the Official Transportation and Logistics Partner of Expo 2031, presented the physical planning and infrastructure perspective behind the developing Expo site.

The master planning approach connects the international horticultural exhibition with infrastructure and permanent legacy uses designed to serve the region beyond 2031.

The Expo experience is being organized around distinct horticultural environments — including Arid, Tropical, Temperate, Continental and North Star climate zones alongside international gardens, specialty gardens, innovation areas, visitor amenities and major program destinations.

Rather than treating legacy as something considered after an Expo is designed, Expo 2031 is working to make legacy part of the planning process from the beginning.

That approach creates an opportunity to examine how temporary international programming, permanent public spaces, infrastructure, horticulture and future development can work together as a single system.

Designing the Experience: Allison DeLeone, TPN

While the physical site provides the stage, Expo 2031 is also building an experience designed to begin well before visitors arrive at the gates.

Allison DeLeone of TPN, Expo 2031’s Official Technology Strategy Partner leading the 360-degree consumer experience, shared the framework for connecting audiences with Expo 2031 across physical and digital touchpoints.

The goal is to create an experience in which participation can begin in communities, gardens, tourism destinations and partner organizations across Minnesota, the United States and internationally — and then continue through the six months of Expo.

The strategy brings together storytelling, destinations, programming, partnerships, digital engagement and participation around the Expo’s Human / Nature theme.

Among the initiatives supporting that larger ecosystem are the Global Pollinator Network™, the Expo 2031 tourism platform, destination experiences and Wiggli™ , Expo 2031’s pollinator-inspired mascot.

Together, these programs are intended to turn Expo 2031 from a destination people simply visit into a platform in which people, organizations and communities can actively participate.

Creating the Digital Platform: Alex Bexon, Tixr

Alex Bexon of Tixr, Expo 2031’s Official Ticketing and Experience Platform Partner, presented the role technology can play in connecting that distributed experience.

Expo 2031 and Tixr are developing a platform model that can extend beyond traditional event ticketing to connect Expo admission with tourism experiences, destinations, programs and partner activations.

The strategy creates the potential for a visitor’s Expo journey to begin long before 2031 — discovering gardens, attractions, communities and experiences connected to Expo 2031 across Minnesota and eventually throughout the United States.

By connecting digital discovery, commerce and the physical visitor experience, Expo 2031 intends to build an integrated pathway from inspiration → exploration → participation → visitation.

Horticulture at the Center

The setting for the presentation was particularly significant.

AIPH represents the international horticultural producer community and is responsible for approving and regulating international horticultural exhibitions. Its Annual Congress brings together many of the organizations and leaders shaping the future of the global horticulture industry.

The 2026 Congress took place in Puglia, one of Italy’s important horticultural regions, providing delegates with both an international forum and direct exposure to the region’s nursery and plant-production industry.

Across the Congress, discussions explored issues including horticultural production, sustainable growing, greener cities, international collaboration and the expanding role of plants within communities.

For Expo 2031, these conversations reinforce an important principle:

Horticulture is not a layer added to the Expo. Horticulture is the organizing system of the Expo.

Plants, landscapes, growers, gardens and horticultural knowledge provide the foundation through which Expo 2031 can explore larger questions about food, water, health, climate, technology, community and the future of human environments.

Minnesota to the World

The Bari presentation also provided an opportunity to continue building relationships with the international horticulture community that will ultimately make Expo 2031 global.

Countries, horticultural organizations, growers, public gardens, research institutions, businesses and cultural partners will all have opportunities to participate as development continues toward 2031.

The five climate zones provide one framework for that collaboration, allowing countries and horticultural communities to tell their stories through plants, landscapes, culture, science and innovation.

From tropical horticulture and arid-land innovation to temperate landscapes and the distinctive horticultural identity of Minnesota and the northern United States, Expo 2031 is being designed as a living representation of the extraordinary diversity of the world's plant life.

The Road to 2031

Bari represents another step in a much longer international journey.

Over the coming years, Expo 2031 Minnesota USA will continue working with AIPH, the international horticultural community, U.S. partners, participating countries and public and private-sector organizations to develop the site, horticultural program, visitor experience and permanent legacy.

And as that work advances, one idea will remain at the center:

Human / Nature

A place where people encounter the world through horticulture.

A platform where industries and nations can collaborate.

And in 2031, a new opportunity for America to welcome the world through the universal language of plants.