MAIN INDEX

HISTORY
-- History
-- First Drafts
-- Statistics
-- In the News

CELEBRATIONS

EXPO MAP

PAVILIONS

THEME

MEMORIES

MISCELLANY

LINKS

VIEW
GUEST BOOK

SIGN
GUEST BOOK

EMAIL
 
 


EXPO 86 STATISTICS

International Participants

Antigua & Barbuda Fiji Montsarrat Spain
Australia France Naru Sri Lanka
Barbados Federal Republic of Germany Norway St. Kits/Nevis, St. Luca, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Belgium Grenada Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Switzerland
Britain Hong Kong Pakistan Thailand
Brunei Darussalam Hungary Papua New Guinea Tonga
Canada Indonesia Peru Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Peoples republic of China Italy Philippines United Nations
Cook Islands Ivory Coast
(Cote d'Ivorie)
Romania United States of America
Costa Rica Japan Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Vanuatu
Cuba Kenya Senegal Western Samoa
Czechoslovakia Republic of Korea Singapore Yugoslavia
The Commonwealth of Dominica Malaysia Solomon Islands
European Community Mexico South Pacific Pavilion

Provinces, Territories and States
Alberta Northwest Territories Oregon Saskatchewan
British Columbia Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island Washington State
California Ontario Quebec Yukon Territory

Corporate Exhibits
Air Canada BCTV Canadian National Pavilion of Promise
American Express Canadian Pacific General Motors of Canada Telecom Canada

Theme Exhibits
Expo Centre Great Hall of Ramses II Folklife
Roundhouse Special Images Holography Million dollar Gold Coin

Entertainment Vanues
Kodak Pacific Bowl Labatt's Expo Theatre Xerox International Theatre

Rides
Scream Machine
(Rollercoaster)
1907 Philadelphia Toboggan Co. Carousel Minolta Space Tower
Looping Starship Carabou Log Chute Childrens Playground

So how does Vancouver Rate?

Expo 86 is considered a success story.   Despite a deficit of $311, 000, 000 (CAD) the British Columbian tax payer would have been stuck with a much larger bill if the attendance had not almost doubled from the original projected number of 13.7 million.  The legacy structures themselves are worth well more than the deficit.

To date, Expo 86 can boast the second highest attendance of any world's fair within the last 30 years and the highest attendance record for a Specialized/Category 2 fair since New York's fair in 1939.

At 70 hectares (173 acres) Expo 86 was part of a movement to bring the more economical Specialized fairs to a higher standard.  The focus was shifted away from bombastic architecture such as towers and monuments toward more conservative structures that could be reused in the future.

Then there is the human factor.  Expo 86 is considered the pivotal point in time where the locals began to see Vancouver as a "world class" city.   Many people believe that the World's Fair helped put Vancouver on the map and civic pride hit a new high with the new-found recognition from around the world.

World's Fair Statistics

Year
City
Country
Area
(acres)
Area
(hectares)
# of International
Participants
Category
Attendance
2010
 Shanghai
China
 
 
 
UE
 
2005
Seto, Aichi
Japan
 427.5 173
121
SE
 
2000
Hannover
Germany
395
160
155
UE
18 100 000
1998
Lisbon
Portugal
123
50
146
SE
10 128 204
1993
Taejon
S. Korea
222
90
141
SE
14 000 000
1992
Seville
Spain
538
215
108
UE
41 814 571
1988
Brisbane
Australia
98
40
30
SE
18 574 475
1986
Vancouver, BC
Canada
173
70
54
SE
22 111 578
1985
Tsukuba
Japan
247
100
111
SE
20 334 727
1984
New Orleans, LA
USA
   
26
SE
7 335 279
1982
Knoxville, TN
USA
74
30
16
SE
11 127 786
1975
Okinawa
Japan
274
100
37
SE
3 485 750
1974
Spokane WA
USA
100
40.5
 
SE
4 800 000
1970
Osaka
Japan
865
350
75
GE Cat. 1
64 218 770
1968
San Antonio, TX
USA
     
GE Cat. 2
 
1967
Montreal, Que
Canada
   
62
GE Cat. 1
50 306 648
1964
New York, NY
USA
646
 261  
NR
51 607 037 
(2 years)
1962
Seattle, WA
USA
74
30
17
GE Cat. 2
9 000 000
1958
Brussels
Belgium
494
200
42
GE Cat. 1
41 454 412
1939
New York, NY
USA
1235
500
33
GE Cat. 2
44 000 000 
(2 years)
1937
Paris
France
260
105
44
GE Cat. 2
31 040 955
1935
Brussels
Belgium
375
152
30
GE Cat. 2
20 000 000
1933
Chicago, IL
USA
420
170
 
GE Cat. 2
22 317 221
1915
San Francisco, CA
USA
628
254
32
UE
19 000 000
1904
St. Louis, MO
USA
1235
500
60
UE
19 694 855
1900
Paris
France
297
120
58
UE
50 860 801

UE = Universal Exposition -- usually the largest fairs in terms of acreage and International participants.  But most historical fairs before the 1930s are generally considered Universal Expositions regardless of the size.  The earliest Universal Expositions were housed in one large building.  Since the turn of the 20th century a UE is most often recognized by participating countries designing and building their own pavilions.  Also, a UE usually runs for a minimum 5 to six months.  The UE category was re-established in the early 1970s.
SE = Specialized Exposition -- Smaller in acreage than a UE.  International participants are not requested to design their own pavilion, but rather, are given space in existing structures provided by the host country.
GE = General Exposition --  Term given to all recognized fairs between the 30s and the early 70s.  The General Exposition could be either a category 1 (UE) or 2 (SE).  The term General Exposition was put in place to distinguish the difference between a World's Fair and a Horticultural or Agricultural fair.
Cat.  Category (1 and 2) -- The terms category 1 and category 2 can be interchanged with UE and SE, respectively.
NR = Not Recognized by the Bureau of International Exhibitions (BIE).  In order to host a World's Fair, the fair in question must follow a set of basic rules.  The host country must be a member of the BIE, go through a bidding process similar to the Olympic Games, and win that bid for the particular year in order to be recognized.
A and B Fairs are terms used primarily by the media.  The BIE does not use A or B to describe a World's Fair category.

Note that the number of International participants does not always equal the total number of pavilions.  Some fairs, such as Seattle 62, housed many countries in a few buildings.  Hannover 2000 did the same with nations that wished to participate but could not or did not want to go through the expense of designing and building a detached structure.

Additionally, corporate pavilions have become increasingly popular over the years.  In some fairs, corporate pavilions outnumbered National pavilions, but corporate pavilions are not counted in most official records.  The number of International participants tabulated in the table above only include nations.  It does not include corporate, religious or theme pavilions.