A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a period of time, typically between three and six months.
The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next. It was the sixth of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It was held at the esplanade of Les Invalides, the Champ de Mars, the Trocadéro and at the banks of the Seine between them, with an additional section in the Bois de Vincennes, and it was visited by more than fifty million people. Many international congresses and other events were held within the framework of the exposition, including the 1900 Summer Olympics.
The Exposition Universelle of 1878, better known in English as the 1878 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 1 May to 10 November 1878, to celebrate the recovery of France after the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War. It was the third of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937.
The Exposition Universelle of 1889, better known in English as the 1889 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 5 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fifth of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more than thirty-two million visitors. The most famous structure created for the exposition, and still remaining, is the Eiffel Tower.
Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were public displays of people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays sometimes emphasized the supposed inferiority of the exhibits' culture, and implied the superiority of "Western society", through tropes that purported marginalized groups as "savage". The idea of a "savage" derives from Columbus's voyages that deemed European culture remained pure, while other cultures were titled impure or "wild", and this stereotype relies heavily on the idea that different ways of living were "cast out by God", as other cultures do not recognize Christianity in relation to Creation. Throughout their existence such exhibitions garnered controversy over their demeaning, derogatory, and dehumanizing nature. They began as a part of circuses and "freak shows" which displayed exotic humans in a manner akin to a caricature which exaggerated their differences. They then developed into independent displays emphasizing the exhibits' inferiority to western culture and providing further justification for their subjugation. Such displays featured in multiple colonial exhibitions and at temporary exhibitions in animal zoos.
Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) after World War II.
The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), communicating under the name AfricaMuseum since 2018, is an ethnography and natural history museum situated in Tervuren in Flemish Brabant, Belgium, just outside Brussels. It was originally built to showcase King Leopold II's Congo Free State in the International Exposition of 1897.
The Jardin d'Acclimatation is a 19-hectare (47-acre) children's amusement park located in the northern part of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, alongside other attractions.
The Exposition universelle, internationale et coloniale was a world's fair including a colonial exhibition held at Parc de la Tête d'or in Lyon, France in 1894. The exposition drew unwanted attention with the assassination of French President Sadi Carnot during his visit on 24 June 1894; he died the day after. The exposition drew 3.8 million visitors.
The Exposition Universelle of 1867, better known in English as the 1867 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 1 April to 3 November 1867. It was the second of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. A number of nations were represented at the fair. Following a decree of Emperor Napoleon III, the exposition was prepared as early as 1864, in the midst of the renovation of Paris, marking the culmination of the Second French Empire. Visitors included Tsar Alexander II of Russia, a brother of the King William and Otto von Bismarck of Prussia, Prince Metternich and Franz Josef of Austria, Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz, and the Khedive of Egypt Isma'il.
The Paris Colonial Exhibition was a six-month colonial exhibition held in Paris, France, in 1931 that attempted to display the diverse cultures and immense resources of France's colonial possessions.
The Sydney International Exhibition was established headed by Lord Augustus Loftus and took place in Sydney in 1879, after being preceded by a number of Metropolitan Intercolonial Exhibitions through the 1870s in Prince Alfred Park.
The Brussels International Exposition of 1910 was a world's fair held in Brussels, Belgium, from 23 April to 1 November 1910. This was just thirteen years after Brussels' previous world's fair. It received 13 million visitors, covered 88 hectares and lost 100,000 Belgian francs.
The International Colonial and Export Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held in Amsterdam from May 1 to October 1, 1883. The event drew at least a million visitors and was the first international colonial exhibition, with 28 different nations presenting their colonial trade and wealth.
The Empire Exhibition, South Africa, held in Johannesburg, was intended to mark that city's jubilee and was opened by the Governor-General of the Union of South Africa on 15 September 1936. It was the first exhibition held in the Union of South Africa following two earlier exhibitions in Cape Colony in 1877 and 1892. The idea of an empire exhibition in South Africa was first discussed in 1934 by the Buy Empire Committee of Johannesburg. On 9 January 1935, the Grand Council of the Federation of British Industries passed a resolution for a proposal to hold an Empire Exhibition in Johannesburg in 1936 in conjunction with the Golden Jubilee of the city.
The Victorian Intercolonial Exhibition world's fair was held in Melbourne, Colony of Victoria between 2 September and 16 November 1875.
The Portuguese colonial exhibition was a world's fair held in Porto, Portugal in 1934 to display achievements of Portugal's colonies in Africa and Asia and allow the visitors to travel throughout the empire in a metaphorical sense.
The Fifth National Industrial Exhibition was held in Osaka, Japan in 1903. It was the first to be open to foreign exhibitors, and twice the size of previous National Industrial Exhibitions. It was the fifth and final of the centrally planned National Industrial Exhibitions though exhibitions such as the one in 1907 in Tokyo followed.
