World’s fair is an international exposition that features exhibits dealing with commerce, industry, and science. Most fairs also offer entertainment and cultural activities and promote tourism in a region or country. Exhibitors include nations, nongovernment organizations, and private companies.
A world’s fair runs for several months and attracts millions of visitors. Most fairs have been held in Europe and the United States. But fairs have also been held in many other countries, including Australia, Canada, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, and South Korea. The first world’s fair was London’s Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace, a huge glass and iron hall, exhibited art, handicrafts, and machinery. New products on display included the reaper and the Colt revolver.
World’s fairs are regulated by the Bureau of International Expositions (B.I.E.), based in Paris, France. The B.I.E. has established regulations that govern the frequency and duration of officially approved events. The B.I.E. regulates two categories of fairs. Larger fairs are called “registered” and are held every five years. Smaller fairs are “recognized” fairs and may occur more frequently.
Over the years, world’s fairs have become a showcase for new inventions, unfamiliar peoples, and new kinds of art. Alexander Graham Bell’s newly invented telephone was displayed at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. Visitors at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis saw early types of automobiles and people of many races. World’s fair visitors that attended the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago in 1933 and 1934 saw early forms of television broadcasts.
Famous structures have been designed for world’s fairs. The Eiffel Tower was built for one in Paris in 1889. Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry is housed in the Fine Arts Pavilion of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. The Space Needle was built for the Century 21 world’s fair in Seattle in 1962.
Early world’s fairs often celebrated historic anniversaries. Modern fairs have had a variety of different themes. The Century 21 fair emphasized exhibits about the dawn of the space age. The 1975 fair in Okinawa, Japan, featured the ocean environment. The 1982 fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, dealt with energy needs. The 1986 fair in Vancouver, Canada, centered on transportation. The 1988 fair in Brisbane, Australia, explored leisure in the age of technology. Expo 2005, in Aichi, Japan, focused on sustaining a healthy environment. Saragossa, Spain, hosted Expo Zaragoza 2008, a world’s fair with water as its theme. Shanghai hosted Expo 2010, which focused on urban and environmental themes.
