Talk:List of world's fairs

List
This is a very nice list of international fairs. However it includes many things that were not World's Fairs of any sort. It also misses several exhibition listed on the BIE website. I propose moving this list to List of international exhibitions and replacing this one with the list from the BIE website with the addition of unsanctioned fairs that billed themselves as World's fairs. On the present list you cannot tell which ones the realy big fairs were. Rmhermen 20:11 21 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Of course, feel free to add any BIE fairs. But, just because the BIE endorsed/didn't endorse it, doesn't make it more or less worldly. Granted, in an effort towards completeness, this is too long and should be separated into major and minor fairs, or BIE and non-BIE fairs. But the BIE should be on the List of international exhibitions, since that is consistent with the BIE, while world's fair is colloquial. There were world's fairs of a sort before the BIE existed. dml
 * The BIE website lists the pre-BIE fairs. What I think we need is a list of the major world-changing fairs. Of course the BIE fairs should stay on this list whereever it ends up. But I doubt most of the fairs on this list were considered "World's fairs". Rmhermen 04:21 22 Jul 2003 (UTC)

I added the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago to this list. Actually, I was surprised it wasn't on the list, as it was one of the most famous world's fairs in history, at least in my opinion. Gujuguy 19:06, 10 April 2006 (UTC)
 * It was, until someone went and hacked the list. I restored the previous version. dml 21:19, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

State Flags
Why is it that all the fairs that occurred in California have a state flag next to them, but all the other fairs that occurred in the United States (even ones in New York City) have an American flag? Is this just blatant Californian arrogance? Are we to modify ALL the American fairs to have their state flags too? While the country is called the United States, the states are effectively provinces. It is silly and inconsistent to have California be the only state flag on the list. Making them all that way would be confusing, so all the California flags should be merely American flags. --StringRay (talk) 06:25, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

Good point, StringRay - the same's true of Australia, where ONLY state flags are presented. WTF? --LaffABit (talk) 06:25, 28 December 2015 (UTC)


 * I think with Australia it's not simply that there are state flags, but that the fairs were hosted by crown colonies whose flags are the same as the modern day state that replaced them. For example Victoria Colony's flag from 1851 to 1901 was superseded by the Australian national flag and a state flag identical (to my eye at least) the colony's flag.
 * The two Australian world's fairs since 1901 (1 held in 1988, 1 proposed for 2022/2023) when there was an Australi flag do have the Australian flag.
 * Icarusgeek (talk) 17:02, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

Lausanne.CH 1964/65
On this webpage and others I can find references to a "Lausanne" fair held in 1964 or 1965; from which the Blackpool Pleasure Beach monorail was apparently purchased. Does anyone have any information, I've failed to dig up much. —Sladen (talk) 01:05, 9 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Hi Sladen, This website: http://www.expo-archive.ch/eng/html/index.html@sitesect=1000.htm has information. It's interesting, but it seems to be more of a national fair, than a world's fair Icarusgeek (talk) 17:13, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

Durban Expo 85
There was a large (I was young at the time, so I can't recall the scale accurately) expo in Durban, South Africa. The substantial facilities built for the expo are still in use today, but there is very little information on it on the net. I am guessing that because of apartheid, it wasn't officially sanctioned by any world body. Should it be included in this list? 196.213.166.66 (talk) 14:08, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Hi 196.213.166.66
 * My first port of call is always my encyclopedia of world's fairs, which has chapters about the bigger expos, and a handy an appendix of world's fairs that they haven't covered in the main text. And it's not there.
 * But unlike you I have managed to find a bit on the web: http://www.gordonfranks.co.za/?page_id=4, http://www.sahistory.org.za/image/tid/19461, http://www.destinationisleofman.com/about.shtml, http://www.ifp.org.za/Archive/MGButhelezi/DOC00139.pdf, http://bteq.com.au/completed.html, from these (and numerous shopping pages with stamps from the expo) it certainly seems to have been called an expo; but I don't get the feeling that it was a world's fair as such
 * Icarusgeek (talk) 10:34, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

Paris 1881
International Exposition of Electricity, Paris seems to be notable and should possibly be on this list. --Wtshymanski (talk) 15:14, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

1898 Jerusalem
The Universal Scientific and Philanthropic Exposition has been added, with a flagicon of Palestine; but that flag was only in use since 1964 (Palestine Flag). I think it was in the Ottoman Empire in 1898 (from British Mandate for Palestine / WW1/Ottoman Empire / Timeline of the Ottoman Empire) so flag should be

Does anyone know for sure?

In the absence of wiser words I'll change it in a week or so to Ottoman Empire

(and I hope for a non-red link version, a quick surf makes it look an intesting expo)


 * Icarusgeek (talk) 16:13, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Most wanted page?
Ok - this will sound rather random, but which listed fair that doesn't currently have a page would readers most want, or be most ready to expand? I'm not saying that I'd be able to get much info (especially if hosted in a country where the main language is one unfamiliar one to me). And it could be very stubby. But I'll give the most popular one a bash sometime in March '12 Icarusgeek (talk) 13:45, 3 March 2012 (UTC)

Are World Fairs obsolete in the US?
As I read this list, the US hasn't had one in 30 years. Is there any explanation for that? Terry Thorgaard (talk) 22:18, 12 December 2014 (UTC)


 * Possibly because of Orlando Expo '82-and-Ever-After? 73.194.9.155 (talk) 15:32, 6 March 2016 (UTC)