The word EXPO is an abbreviation for English exposition - laconic, easy
a memorable brand of world's fairs born in Victorian England
more than a century and a half ago. EXPOs of our days differ from those of the 19th century about as different as an electric car from a horse-drawn London cab.

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It is generally accepted that the idea of holding the first World Exhibition was put forward by Prince Albert, the husband of the British Queen Victoria. But, in fact, he only blessed the grassroots initiative put forward by Sir Henry Cole. Having visited the Paris Industrial Exhibition in 1849, he noticed the lack of participants from other countries and decided to correct this omission.

In 1850, a Royal Commission was created, and on May 1, 1851, an exhibition with the modest title “The Great Exhibition of Industrial Works of All Nations” was opened in London’s Hyde Park, in the luxurious Crystal Palace built specially for this occasion. The motto of the exposition was not inferior to the name: “Let all peoples work together on the great cause of improving humanity.”

Russia was included in the list of “all nations” (40 countries participated in the exhibition, 20,000 exhibits were presented). Most of the 365 Russian exhibits were raw materials (grain, leather, hemp, flour, furs, etc.). The three gold medals that Russia received were for jewelry—the work of the court jewelers Kammere and Seftigen, silver from the Sazikov factory, and malachite products, including furniture, from the Demidov factory.

During the five and a half months of operation, the exhibition was visited by about 6 million people.

The exhibition was financed by British industrialists and traders, members of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Arts, Crafts and Commerce. The organizers made a profit of £186,000 (approximately £12 million at today's prices). This money was invested in the purchase of land and the creation of museums and other cultural and educational institutions in the London area of South Kensington.

Already in London in 1851, some traditions of the World Exhibitions were laid. In particular, a number of buildings and structures built for their holding were dismantled at the end of the exposition, but some were preserved. There are many outstanding architectural monuments on the list of surviving ones (see the information “They were created for the EXPO”)

In 1855, France corrected the mistake noticed by Sir Cole and held its World Exhibition of Agriculture, Industry and the Fine Arts. For the exhibition, at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III, the Official Classification of Bordeaux wines was created, which is still used today. The number of visitors was just under 6 million people. From a commercial point of view, the event was a failure - expenses amounted to the equivalent of $10 million, income barely exceeded $1 million.

In 1862 and 1867, the World's Fairs were held again in London and Paris, respectively. The British managed to earn as much as 670 pounds from their exhibition. The French, whose exhibition could be called a world exhibition with some stretch (almost no other countries except Great Britain, as well as the English and French colonies, participated in it), managed to attract a record number of spectators - about 10 million people. Expenses amounted to about $5.9 million, income - about $2.8 million, the deficit was paid from the state treasury and the Paris mayor's office.

In 1876, the "International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of Soils and Mines" was held on the other side of the Atlantic in Philadelphia. It was visited by 10 million people (every fifth resident of the United States). Everything was organized on a purely American scale - about 200 pavilions were built on an area enclosed by a five-kilometer fence. The money was raised through the issue of shares (less than 18% of the issued shares were distributed), with contributions from the city of Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania. The organizers considered a $1.5 million loan from the federal treasury a gift and returned it only by court decision.

In 1879, the World Exhibition in Paris was finally financially successful.

The 1884 New Orleans Exhibition was not very successful, due to the fact that Louisiana State Treasurer Edward Burke, shortly before its closing, left for Honduras forever, taking with him $1.77 million - a significant part of the exhibition budget.

After the not very noticeable exhibition in Antwerp (1885), the next one was the exhibition in Barcelona (1888), which was very financially successful - the profit amounted to the equivalent of $1.74 million, despite the small number of visitors compared to previous exhibitions (about 2 million people).

The Paris (1889) exhibition set a record for the number of visitors - 32 million people (profit amounted to 8 million francs, more than $1 million in the money of that time).

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, electricity began to play an important role in exhibitions (for example, in 1893 in Chicago, visitors could see the first dishwasher, in 1900 in Paris they could ride an escalator).

The convention changed everything

The First World War led to a long break in the holding of international exhibitions - from 1914 to 1928 inclusive, not a single one was held on the European continent.

A new stage began after the Convention on International Exhibitions was signed in Paris on November 22, 1928 (ratified in 1930, supplemented in 1948, 1966 and 1972). The convention put an end to the pre-war anarchy, when organizers did not agree with each other on dates and venues. As a result, exhibitions were held almost every year (and sometimes two a year), they were repeatedly hosted by the same countries, and the definition “worldwide” was used by everyone. All this reduced the significance of the event. This means both spectator interest and income for the organizers.

According to the Convention, world exhibitions were divided into general (dedicated to the products of several industries and organized to demonstrate the overall successes achieved in a particular field) and specialized. General exhibitions can be of categories I and II. At category I exhibitions (World Expo), participating countries are required to build national pavilions; construction sites are provided free of charge. The interval between holding these exhibitions should be 6 years (currently 5 years); in the same country they can be held no more than once every 15 years.

The duration of world exhibitions should not exceed six months, the period can only be extended in the event of force majeure. Invitations to other countries are sent no earlier than three years before the world exhibition.

An application to hold an exhibition must be registered with a special structure - the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIB), the only intergovernmental organization regulating the exhibition business.

Exhibition organizers should not pursue commercial goals; ensuring financial balance is considered a good result.

Peaceful Atomium

The Paris Convention was not always strictly observed in terms of timing (the interval between World Expos ranged from two to ten years, the New York exhibition of 1964-1965 was not sanctioned by the IWB and lasted a year). However, it became clear which of the exhibitions are World Exhibitions with a capital “W” (see the entry “Officially registered World Exhibitions by the IWB”).

Without any agreement, both the organizing and participating countries began to use exhibitions to improve their image in the international arena. The Belgian monarchy in 1935 boasted of colonial successes in the Congo. The 1937 Paris Exhibition is remembered for its two national pavilions, located facing each other - Nazi Germany and Stalin's USSR. And the main awards went to representatives of these countries - architects Albert Speer and Boris Iofan.

The 1939 New York Exposition showed the United States emerging from the Great Depression. It also gave birth to another new trend - not a haphazard display of new technologies and inventions, but a focus on one main topic, a focus on the future and intercultural dialogue. The theme of the New York exhibition was “Building the Future of the World.”

The Brussels exhibition of 1958 was not only an advertisement for the peaceful atom, but also propaganda for the Benelux created in the same year, the core of the future EU. Canada combined the celebration of the 100th anniversary of statehood with the 1967 exhibition in Montreal (where, by the way, the term Expo was born). The 1970 exhibition in Osaka took place in an era when consumer electronics and appliances were divided into two categories - Japanese and some kind of junk. But seriously, it became the first global event in a country famous for its closed nature. It is no coincidence that Spain hosted both the Olympics in Barcelona and the World Expo in Seville in 1992 (in the year celebrating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus). The Hanover EXPO 2000 is a reflection of the role of the new, united Germany in pan-European integration.

Shanghai, China circa 2010? No comments needed. Let us note only a short gap between this EXPO and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The Montreal World Expo had a budget deficit of about $211 million. After the 2000 Hanover Expo, the German government and the state of Lower Saxony absorbed losses of $1.2 billion.

The Soviet Union at one time refused to host the World Exhibition (it was eventually accepted by Montreal). Perhaps Russia, which first took part in such an event 160 years ago, will someday act as the organizing country of World Expo.

Alexey Alekseev

Everything is on display