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Exhibitions and fairs, organized displays of works of art, science, or industry for stimulating public interest, promoting manufactures, expanding trade, or illustrating the progress and accomplishments of one or a wide variety of productive activities.
The earliest commercial fairs evolved in medieval Europe, where theyserved as centres of trade. In modern times they have become increasingly important, ranging in scope from special fairs dealing with one industry or branch of industrial production, such as automobiles or machinery, to general exhibits of goods and merchandise of every variety. Among the larger commercial and samples fairs, the most notable are the Milan Fair in Italy; the Leipzig Fair in East Germany; the International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki, Greece; the Baghdad Fair, Iraq; the International Samples Fair in Valencia, Spain; the Zagreb International Trade Fair, Yugoslavia; the Paris International Fair; the Canadian National Exhibition; and the several special national exhibitions exchanged between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. It was estimated in the early 1970s that 820 general and 800 specialized commercial fairs were held annually in 76 countries. Some of the more popular specialized fairs include the International Textile and Clothing Industry Exhibition in Ghent; the Canadian Chemical and Equipment Exhibition in Toronto; the International Electrical Equipment Exhibition, Paris; the International Furniture Fair, Cologne; and the National Hardware Show, New York City.
The first of the general international exhibitions was the Crystal Palace Exposition in London in 1851, which became a model for many later exhibitions. The Paris Exposition of 1855 was held in the great Palais de l’Industrie on the Champs-Elyses. Altogether, about 34 major world fairs were held between 1851 and 1970. Until 1928 any country could organize an activity of this kind whenever it wished to do so. In that year, 35 countries signed a diplomatic convention in Paris to regulate the frequency and method of orgamzing world fairs. The convention later established the Bureau International des Expositions at Paris.
Some world fairs of note include the Philadelphia Centennial, 1876; the World Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893; the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition, 1933—34; the New York World’s Fair, 1939-40; the Brussels Universal and International Exhibition, 1958; the New York World’s Fair, 1964—65; Montreal’s Expo 67, 1967; and Expo 70 in Osaka, Japan, 1970, the first world’s fair to be held on the Asian continent.
