what is the world expo?
the world expo is a large-scale, global, non-commercial expo. the hosting of the world expo must be applied for by a country and approved by the international world expo committee. expo aims to promote the exchange of ideas and development of the world economy, culture, science and technology, to allow exhibitors to publicise and display their achievements and improve international relationships. accordingly, the world expo with its 150-year history is regarded as the olympic games of the economy, science and technology.
universal exposition or expo (short for "exposition", and also known as world fair and world's fair) is the name given to various large public exhibitions held since the mid-19th century. they are the third largest event in the world in terms of economic and cultural impact after the fifa world cup and the olympic games.[citation needed] they have been organized for more than one and a half centuries — longer than both the (modern) olympic games and the world cup. the first expo was held in the crystal palace in hyde park, london, in 1851 under the title “great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations”. “the great exhibition”, as it is often called, was an idea of prince albert, queen victoria’s husband, and was the first international exhibition of manufactured products. as such, it influenced the development of several aspects of society including art and design education, international trade and relations, and even tourism . also, it was the precedent for the many international exhibitions, later called “world’s fairs”, which were subsequently held to the present day. in acapulco, new spain (mexico), annual fairs took place for several centuries where countries from asia exhibited their products brought to the new world by the spanish royal navy nao de china.
the main attractions at world's fairs are the national pavilions, created by participating countries. at expo 2000 hanover, where countries created their own architecture, the average pavilion investment was around 13 million.[citation needed] given these costs, governments are sometimes skeptical about participation as benefits are often assumed not to outweigh the costs. tangible effects are difficult to measure; however, an independent study for the dutch pavilion at expo 2000 estimated the pavilion (which cost around 35 million) generated around 350 million of potential revenues for the dutch economy. it also identified several key success factors for world exposition pavilions in general.
since the signing of the 1928 convention on international exhibitions, the bureau international des expositions (bie; english: international exhibitions bureau) has served as an international sanctioning body. bie-approved fairs are divided into a number of types: universal, international or specialized. they usually last between three and six months.
brief history of the world's fair
world's fairs originated in the french tradition of national exhibitions, a tradition that culminated with the french industrial exposition of 1844 held in paris. it was soon followed by other national exhibitions in continental europe, and finally came to london where the first real international exhibition was held.
since their inception in 1851, the character of world expositions has evolved. three eras can be distinguished:[citation needed] the era of industrialization, the era of cultural exchange, and the era of nation branding.[original research?]
industrialization (1851–1938)
the first era could be called the era of 'industrialization' and covered, roughly, the period from 1800 to 1938. in these days, world expositions were especially focused on trade and famous for the display of technological inventions and advancements. world expositions were the platform where the state of the art in science and technology from around the world was brought together. the world expositions of 1851 london, 1889 paris, world's columbian exposition, chicago 1893, 1900 paris, 1904 st. louis and 1915 san francisco exhibitions can be called landmarks in this respect.[citation needed] inventions such as the telephone were first presented during this era. an important part of the image of world's fairs stems from this first era.
cultural exchange (1939–1991)
the 1939 new york world's fair and the 1949 stockholm world's fair represented a departure from the original focus of the expositions. from then on, world's fairs became more strongly based on a specific theme of cultural significance, and began to address issues of humankind. they became more future oriented and 'utopian' in scope. technology and inventions remained important, but no longer as the principal subjects of the fair. "building the world of tomorrow"(new york, 1939) and sports (stockholm, 1949) are examples of these 'new' themes. cross-cultural dialogue and the exchange of solutions became defining elements of the expos. the dominant fair of this era arguably is montreal's expo 67. it was also during this time, specifically in the 1960s, that bie organizers started calling world's fairs "expo's".
nation branding (1992–present)
from expo '88 in brisbane onwards, countries started to use world expositions more widely and more strongly as a platform to improve their national images through their pavilions. finland, japan, canada, france and spain are cases in point. a large study by tjaco walvis called "expo 2000 hanover in numbers" showed that improving national image was the primary participation goal for 73% of the countries at expo 2000. in a world where a strong national image is a key asset, pavilions became advertising campaigns, and the expo a vehicle for 'nation branding'. apart from cultural and symbolic reasons, organizing countries (and the cities and regions hosting them) also utilize the world exposition to brand themselves. according to branding expert wally olins, spain used expo '92 and the 1992 summer olympics in barcelona in the same year to underline its new position as a modern and democratic country and present itself as a prominent member of the european union and the global community.
today's world expositions embody elements of all three eras. they present new inventions, facilitate cultural exchange based on a theme, and are used for city, region and nation branding.
categories of world expositions
presently, there are two types of world expositions: registered and recognized (sometimes unofficially known as "major" and "minor" fairs, respectively[3]). registered exhibitions are the biggest category events. previously, registered expositions were called “universal expositions”. even though this name lingers on in public memory, it is no longer in use as an official term. at registered exhibitions, participants generally build their own pavilions. they are therefore the most extravagant and most expensive expos. their duration may be between six weeks and six months. since 1995, the interval between two registered expositions has been at least five years. the next registered exposition will be expo 2010 in shanghai.
recognized expositions are smaller in scope and investments and generally shorter in duration; between three weeks and three months. previously, these expositions were called "international or specialized expositions" but these terms are no longer used officially. their total surface area must not exceed 25 ha and organizers must build pavilions for the participating states, free of rent, charges, taxes and expenses. the largest country pavilions may not exceed 1,000 m². only one recognized exhibition can be held between two registered exhibitions.
there is also a third category of exposition - the horticultural exhibitions, which is a joint bie and aiph-sanctioned 'garden' fair, where gardens and garden pavilions take the form of a participant's representation. the 2006 royal flora ratchaphruek can be considered an example of the category.
"registered expositions" or universal expositions
universal expositions encompass universal themes that affect the full gamut of human experience, and international and corporate participants are required to adhere to the theme in their representations. universal expositions are usually held less frequently than specialized or international expositions because they are more expensive as they require total design of pavilion buildings from the ground up. as a result, nations compete for the most outstanding or memorable structure—recent examples include japan, france, morocco & spain at expo '92. recent universal expositions include brussels expo '58, montreal expo 67, osaka expo '70, and seville expo '92. sometimes pre-fabricated structures are also used to minimize costs for developing countries or for countries from a geographical block to share space (i.e. plaza of the americas at seville '92).
the only universal exposition to be held without bie approval was the 1964-1965 new york world's fair.[citation needed] the sanctioning organization at paris denied them "official" status because robert moses did not comply with bie rules in place at the time, namely the one limiting the duration for universal expositions to six months only. the fair was held through two six-month periods over two years.[citation needed] the fair proceeded without bie approval and turned to tourism and trade organizations to host national pavilions in lieu of official government sponsorship. however, a large number of governments did participate in the world's fair.[citation needed] frederick pittera, (a producer of international fairs and exhibitions and author of the history of world's fairs in the encyclopædia britannica and comptons encyclopedia), was commissioned by mayor robert wagner of new york city in 1959 to prepare the first feasibility studies for the 1964 new york world's fair. pittera was joined in his study by austrian architect victor gruen (inventor of the 'shopping mall').[citation needed] the eisenhower commission ultimately awarded the world's fair bid to new york city against several major usa cities.[citation needed]
the 1939-1940 new york world's fair obtained bie approval about four months before the gates were set to open, and even though the fair lasted two seasons, the bie endorsed the second season also. originally, the 1939 fair was not supposed to have a second season, but debts from the first season were hoped to be paid off if the fair re-opened in the spring of 1940.[citation needed]
since the turn of the 21st century the bie has moved to sanction expos only every five years;[citation needed] following the numerous expos of the 1980s and 1990s, some see this as a means to cut down potential expenditure by participating nations. the rule may apply to all expos, or it may end up that universal expositions will be restricted to every five years or so, with international or specialized expositions in the in-between years for countries wishing to celebrate a special event.[citation needed]
list of expositions
* 1851 london (united kingdom)
* 1855 paris (france)
* 1862 london (united kingdom)
* 1867 paris (france)
* 1873 vienna (austria)
* 1876 philadelphia (united states)
* 1878 paris (france)
* 1879 sydney (australia)
* 1880 melbourne (australia)
* 1881 milan (italy)
* 1884 new orleans (united states)
* 1888 barcelona (spain)
* 1889 paris (france)
* 1893 chicago (united states)
* 1896 nizhny novgorod (russia)
* 1896 budapest (hungary)
* 1897 brussels (belgium) and stockholm (sweden)
* 1898 omaha (united states)
* 1900 paris (france)
* 1901 buffalo (united states)
* 1901 charleston (united states)
* 1904 st. louis (united states)
* 1905 liège (belgium)
* 1906 milan (italy)
* 1909 seattle (united states)
* 1910 brussels (belgium)
* 1911 turin (italy)
* 1913 ghent (belgium)
* 1914 lyon (france)
* 1915 san francisco (united states)
* 1915 san diego (united states)
* 1929 barcelona (spain)
* 1933 chicago (united states)
* 1935 brussels, (belgium)
* 1937 paris (france)
* 1939 new york city (united states)
* 1939-1940 san francisco (united states)
* 1958 brussels (belgium)
* 1962 seattle (united states)
* 1964 new york (united states)
* 1967 montreal (canada)
* 1968 san antonio (united states)
* 1970 osaka (japan)
* 1974 spokane (united states)
* 1982 knoxville (united states)
* 1984 new orleans (united states)
* 1985 tsukuba (japan)
* 1986 vancouver (canada)
* 1988 brisbane (australia)
* 1990 osaka international gardens and greenery exposition (japan)
* 1992 seville (spain)
* 1993 daejeon (south korea)
* 1998 lisbon (portugal)
* 1999 kunming international garden festival (china)
* 2000 hanover (germany)
* 2005 aichi (japan)
* 2008 zaragoza (spain)
* 2010 shanghai (china)
* 2012 yeosu (south korea)
* 2015 milan (italy)
* expo 2017 yet to be designated
* expo 2020 yet to be designated