World's Fair
Photo: hyolee2, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A World's Fair (commonly called World Exposition, or simply Expo) is large international festival of arts and sciences. Participating countries present artistic and educational displays in national pavilions to showcase world issues or their country's culture and history. Such is the scale of these events that they are sanctioned by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in order to control expense and to avoid any clashes with other expositions and large international events, such as the Olympics.
UnderstandThe origins of world's fairs lay in a French tradition of national exhibitions, and the success of the French Industrial Exposition in 1844 lead to the adoption of such events by neighbouring European countries.
Events
Historical sitesMost buildings built for these events are designed to be temporary, but there would sometimes be a building or two that were built more sturdily so they could be repurposed after the event.
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "World's Fair" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: hyolee2, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons