On this date in 1939, the New York World's Fair opened. 10 facts about World’s Fairs.
A world’s fair is a global exhibition event with the purpose of showcasing the achievements of the nations taking part. They generally last three to six months and are held at specific locations. World’s fair is the term most often used in America. In Europe and Asia they are called international (or universal) expositions/exhibitions. Since 1958, the word Expo has been used. Since 1995, it has been ruled there must be a gap of at least five years between them.
There can, however, be one Specialised Expo in between. These are smaller and shorter, lasting between three weeks and three months, and are usually focussed on a theme, for example, "Future Energy" (Expo 2017 Astana), "The Living Ocean and Coast" (Expo 2012 Yeosu), or "Leisure in the Age of Technology" (Brisbane, Expo '88). The first of these was held in Stockholm in 1936.
The first World’s Fair as we know it was held in Prague in 1791. It was timed to coincide with the coronation of Leopold II as king of Bohemia, and was was held in the Clementinum, a historic complex of buildings in Prague which houses the National Library of the Czech Republic. The first in the UK was in 1851 and was Prince Albert’s idea. It was called the "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations" and held in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park.
There have been three distinct eras. The Industrialisation era, between 1851–1938, where the exhibitions showed off advances in technology and were big trade fairs. From 1939 in New York they began to shift in emphasis towards cultural themes and social progress. 1939’s theme was "Building the World of Tomorrow". In 1988, the emphasis shifted again and since then they have been a platform for improving and promoting the images of the nations taking part.
There is a central organising body called the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) which is based in Paris.
At time of writing, the most recent World’s Fair was in Osaka, Japan in 2025 and the next one will be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2030. There will be a Specialised Expo in Belgrade in 2027 with the theme of “Play for Humanity – Sport and Music for All”.
Buildings and structures are often erected for World’s Fairs, generally meant to be temporary and dismantled when the show is over. However, there are several which have survived and become much loved attractions in the host cities. The most famous of these is perhaps the Eiffel Tower built for the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1889. The Crystal Palace in London has survived a major fire and relocation to South London and Seattle’s Space Needle was built for the 1962 event. Brisbane’s Skyneedle was built for Expo ‘88 and is still there.
The Epcot Centre in the Walt Disney World Resort, near Orlando, Florida began as a concept of a permanent World’s Fair and became the new home for many of the exhibitions and rides created for the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. Some of them are still operational today.
Innovations first presented at World’s Fairs include Ferris wheels (Chicago, 1893); the new Ford Mustang (1964); IMAX movies (Osaka 1970) and cherry coke (Tennessee, 1982).
A US president was assassinated at a World’s Fair in 1901 in Buffalo, New York. During a reception, President William McKinley was shot twice in the stomach by an anarchist and died of gangrene eight days later. He was operated on at the time by an impromptu team at the expo’s small medical facility, which wasn’t equipped to deal with such major surgery. They weren’t able to locate one of the bullets and had to leave it in, and that’s what killed McKinley. Ironically, on display at that very Expo was a device which could have saved him – the X Ray machine, but nobody thought to use it.
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