What is Expo?
Expo, short for exposition is a huge public fair or exhibition. It is open to public who usually have to pay an entry fee.
How did it originate?
England and France had hosted national exhibitions since the 1750s. France took the lead in the 1800s, organising many public industrial expositions. Bureau International des Expositions, BIE (International Exhibitions Bureau) was formed in 1928 to help oversee and being structure to the International Expositions. Many countries signed up to be ‘member states’ of the BIE. To date there are 163 member states that can bid to host future expos (India is not one of them, but, you don’t have to be a member to have pavilions.)
The first Expo sanctioned by the BIE was held in England called the Crystal Palace Exhibition (1851). The Expo is an exhibition from different countries. For example, in the Crystal Palace Expo , Frederick Bakewell (English Physicist) exhibited a precursor to the modern fax machine and Kudhabadi Swarankar (Jeweller from Sindh) showed off handcrafted jewellery. Travelling from the Industrial era through the cultural exchange era of the 1980s, Expos today have become evolved to branding countries.
Have Expos left behind something useful?
The Expos have left culturally, economically and environmentally significant trails – The Eiffel Tower (it was the entryway to Paris Exposition Universelle), Palace of Fine Arts (1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition), Japanese Tea Garden (California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894), Expo Park, South Korea (Taejŏn Expo ’93), South Bank Parklands, Australia (South Bank Parklands, official World Expo Museum under construction (Expo 2010, Shanghai) to name a few. The Expo brings the hosts innumerable business, trade and development opportunities.
By the end of the expo, over 73 million people had visited – a record attendance – and 246 countries and international organizations had participated. (Wikipedia)
What can you expect to see in Expos?
Exhibits have included everything from prototypes of firearms to the first mobile phones. They have celebrated cultures, built tolerance, advocated protection of environment and encouraged innovation. Pavillions from different countries will showcase exhibits usually in line with the theme of the Expo.
When are the next Expos?
The next Expo is set to happen in Milan, Italy in the year 2015. The theme is feeding the planet, energy for life. People from all over the world – up to 29 million – will be able to see, touch and taste the products of the earth in a great living garden that challenges our assumptions about food production and consumption. All aspects of the project – from the use of solar energy and water, to biodegradable materials and green transport – will be designed to cohere with the core objectives of the 2015 Expo theme.
Dubai, UAE has won the bid to host Expo 2020. The theme is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” with three subthemes:
Expo Logo from official website
Sustainability – lasting sources of energy and water
Mobility – smart systems of logistics and transportation
Opportunity – new paths to economic development
The focus will be on exploring their inter-dependencies and identifying potential partnerships, ultimately resulting in a legacy of innovation. (Info from Expo 2020 dot ae)
With a predicted 70 per cent of the expected 25 million visitors originating from outside the host nation, Dubai will be the most international event in the history of Expo.
Congratulations Dubai and all the best Milan!
I live in UAE, the country is capable of nothing short of the best. Mabrook Dubai!
View the master plans for Dubai and Milan Expos in the gallery. Click on the first image and scroll through the rest like an album. These images have been garnered from the internet. Do not bear any grudges towards the host countries if they tweak the projects a little bit. They will only make them bigger and better.
Soulsez... 
only GOOD GOOD GOOD ………….
Dubai is amazing
Never knew that about the Eiffel Tower. Brilliant!
Good and simple. Ez for me to understand. Smart writng
Seen all this info before. But nicely put in one place
Good information Archie. Yay for Dubai!
Very good information about expos. I’m enjoy your writing. Very simple for simple people like me.