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After browsing through the sites in the Yahoo! World's Fairs and Expositions category, we learned that there is more than one answer to your question -- it all depends on how you define "world's fair." Most sources consider the 1851 Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations to be the first world's fair. This grand exhibition took place in London, in a high-tech, glass-and-steel building constructed in Hyde Park specifically for the event. Britain displayed new technologies and manufactured goods
made possible by the Industrial Revolution, while other nations showcased items from their own craftspeople and manufacturers. The exhibition was a huge success, and world fairs began popping up all over the globe. By the start of the 20th century, these international fairs were getting disorganized and even competing with each other. At a 1928 conference in Paris, 31 countries agreed on a set of rules for world's fairs and expositions. This group formed the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), which became the governing body for successive fairs (the BIE uses the terms "world's fair" and "exposition" interchangeably). According to the BIE's rules, registered world's fairs can only be held once every five years.
One additional recognized exposition of limited duration can take place between registered world's fairs or expositions. However, countries have exerted pressure on the BIE to recognize additional events. Also, some international exhibitions without BIE approval have become known as world's fairs. The BIE web site and the Expo Museum, a web site devoted to world's fairs, offer somewhat different lists of fairs. There are 46 disputed events that can qualify as world's fairs, depending on the criteria you use. The BIE lists 60 world's fairs, including some smaller fairs known as "special exhibitions." These concentrate on a narrow topic, such as agriculture or sports.
The Expo Museum lists 65 events, including some that were not BIE-approved, but which earned popular status as world's fairs. You'll have to compare the lists and decide for yourself what qualifies as a true world's fair. However, we can tell you that a world's fair of some type has been held every couple of years since 1851. The next BIE special exposition had been scheduled for Seine-Saint-Denis, France, in 2004, but was recently cancelled. The next BIE general-interest world's fair is Expo 2005 and will take place in Aichi, Japan. Past world's fairs (of all varieties) have been held in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil,
Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Haiti, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The countries which have hosted the most world's fairs and expositions are Belgium, France, and the United States.
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