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 Head office at 34avenue d'Iéna (16th arrondissement, Paris). | |
 Member states as of May 2022 | |
| Formation | 22 November 1928; 96 years ago (1928-11-22) |
|---|---|
| Type | International exhibitions |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Membership | 184 members |
| Alain Berger | |
| Dimitri S. Kerkentzes | |
| Website | www |
TheBureau International des Expositions (BIE;English: International Exhibitions Bureau)[1] is an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions (also known as expos, global expos orworld expos) falling under the jurisdiction of theConvention Relating to International Exhibitions.
The BIE was established by the Convention Relating to International Exhibitions, signed inParis on 22 November 1928, with the following goals:
Today, 184 member countries have adhered to the BIE Convention.
The BIE regulates two types of expositions: Registered Exhibitions (commonly called World Expos) and Recognized Exhibitions (commonly called Specialized Expositions). Horticultural Exhibitions with an A1 grade, regulated by theInternational Association of Horticultural Producers, are recognized since 1960.
The Bureau International des Expositions also recognises theMilan Triennial Exhibition of Decorative Arts and Modern Architecture, on grounds of historical precedence, provided that it retains its original features.
Since the creation of the BIE in 1928, different protocols have governed Expo categories, which are generally split between World Expos and Specialised Expos. The rules for each category define the duration, the frequency, the size, and the construction attributes of each Expo.[2]
Under the original protocol of the 1928 Paris Convention, the BIE recognised two types of Expos:
The Protocol of 30 November 1972 revised the original Convention, entering into force in 1980. Under these new rules, two types of Expos were recognised:
A new amendment was adopted in 1988 and ratified in 1996, further distinguishing the two types of Expos:
Expo 2008 inZaragoza was the first Specialised Expo to be organised under these new rules, which continue to be in force to this day.
The BIE may also grant recognition to A1 Horticultural Exhibitions approved by theInternational Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) since 1960, and to theTriennale di Milano since 1933.
According to the 1988 Amendment of the Convention on International Exhibitions, World Expos (formally known as International Registered Exhibitions) may occur every five years, and may last up to six months.[3] Countries, international organizations, civil societies, and corporations are allowed to participate in World Expos. The themes of World Expos address a universal challenge facing humanity, and international participants may design and build their own pavilions. Participants may also opt to customise a pavilion provided by the Organiser or to participate within a joint pavilion, which has lower participation costs. Examples of themes of recent World Expos include "Man and His World" forExpo '67 inMontreal, and "Age of Discoveries" forSeville Expo '92, and examples of joint pavilion buildings for a Registered Exposition is the Plaza of America at Seville's Expo '92, which was constructed by the Seville Expo Authority to maximize participation at the World Expo by South American nations. The Plaza of Africa at Seville was constructed for the same purpose.
World Expos are also massive in scale, sometimes 300 or 400 hectares in size (Montreal's Expo 67 was 410 hectares, Osaka'sExpo 70 was 330 hectares, Seville'sExpo '92 was 215 hectares and Shanghai'sExpo 2010, 528 hectares). Pavilions participating at a World Expo can also be large, sometimes 5,000 to 10,000 square metres in size, mini city blocks in themselves and sometimes more than several stories in height. (The Australia Pavilion for Shanghai 2010 was 5,000 square metres, the British Pavilion sat on a 6,000 square metres lot, as did the Canadian Pavilion. The flagship Chinese National Pavilion had 20,000 square metres of exhibition space.)
World Expos have been known to average 200,000 persons per day of visitors and some 50 to 70 million visitors during their six-month duration. Montreal's Expo 67 attracted 54 million visitors, Osaka's Expo '70, 64 million visitors, the Seville Expo '92, 41 million visitors and Shanghai's Expo 2010 attracted 70 million visitors.
As a result, transport and other infrastructure at a Registered Exposition is an important concern (Seville's World Expo of 1992 boastedcable car,monorail, boat, and bus) and the overall cost for hosting and being represented at a World Expos is quite high, compared to the smaller-scale Specialised Expos.
Specialised Expos (formally known as International Recognised Exhibitions) may occur between World Expos and may have a duration of between three weeks and three months. Countries, international organizations, civil societies, and corporations are allowed to participate but the theme of the Expo must address a precise challenge, e.g. Future Energy (Expo 2017 Astana), or Living Oceans and the Coast (Expo 2012 Yeosu). The pavilions are built by the Organiser and made available to participants who may customise them. The largest pavilion may be no larger than 1,000 square meters, and the Expo site must not exceed an area of twenty-five hectares. For this reason Specialised Expos are cheaper to run than World Expos.
There are blurred lines between Specialized and World Expositions prior to the 1996 amendment of the BIE's constitution. Some Specialized Expos, such asExpo 86 in Vancouver,Expo '85 in Tsukuba, orHemisfair '68, ran for six months and pulled in greater attendance numbers than their 'World Expo' relatives. Many of these specialized expos also had individual pavilions for their participants or covered a greater exhibition site than other World Expos of the era. According to the new amendment, there were only two World Expos between 1970 and 1992 with over 12 Specialized Expos in that same period. Most of these indeed are smaller exhibitions on a focused theme, but some, such as Expo 86 and Expo 88, were intended as full-fledged World Expos. Others, such as Expo 74, the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, or Expo '85, were specialized exhibitions that were promoted as full World Expos.
184 countries are member states of the BIE:[4]
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon[5]
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad[6]
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Federated States of Micronesia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Italy
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kosovo[7]
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Lithuania
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro[8]
Morocco
Mozambique[6]
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand[6]
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
North Macedonia
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Republic of the Congo
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia[6]
South Africa
South Korea
South Sudan[9]
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan[6]
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States[10]
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe[11]Australia was a signatory to the treaty[12] and won the right to hold the1988 World Exposition. In 2015 theAustralian Chamber of Commerce and Industry requested that theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia) reconsider membership, as the cost was too high and "difficult to demonstrate an appropriate return on investment", and that membership be withdrawn temporarily in 2015.[13] Australia is no longer listed as a member of BIE.[4]
On 16 October 2012, theConservative government ended Canada's membership of the BIE when the federal government cancelled its $25,000 per year membership fee as part of "reviewing all spending across government with the aim of reducing the deficit and returning to balanced budgets".[14]
Five International Exhibitions have been sanctioned by the BIE in the United States sinceWorld War II: one in the World Expo category—theCentury 21 Exposition inSeattle (1962)—and four in the Specialized Expo category—HemisFair '68 inSan Antonio;Expo '74 inSpokane, Washington; the1982 World's Fair inKnoxville, Tennessee; and the1984 Louisiana World Exposition inNew Orleans.[15] The1964 New York World's Fair was held without receiving approval from the BIE.[16]
The United States' membership in the BIE was revoked in June 2001[17] due to non-allocation of funds by theU.S. Congress for two years. The withdrawal of the United States from the BIE had a limited impact on the BIE and on the participation of the United States in International Exhibitions: the country hosted pavilions at WorldExpo 2005 inAichi Prefecture, Japan; WorldExpo 2010 inShanghai, China; SpecialisedExpo 2012 inYeosu, South Korea; and WorldExpo 2015 inMilan, Italy. However, the withdrawal "had strong, adverse consequences for states and localities that wish to host an exposition on U.S. soil. Organizers in at least four states have prepared bids, or are exploring the possibility of preparing bids to host a BIE-affiliated expo." In each case, the bid project was unsuccessful, with non-membership of the BIE hurting the chances of a U.S. bid moving forward.[17]
The U.S. rejoined the organization on 10 May 2017[18] afterPresident Trump signed the "U.S. Wants to Compete for a World Expo Act" (HR534) into law (Pub.L. 115-32)[19] as Minnesota was looking to host a Specialized Expo in 2023.
Fictional characters serving asmascots have been used since 1984, starting withSeymore D. Fair as the official mascot of the1984 Louisiana World Exposition (the name being apun on "see more of the fair", stemming from the localNew Orleans dialect). Seymore D. Fair was followed by many more character mascots over the years, includingCurro inSeville Expo '92;Twipsy atExpo 2000 inHanover; andHaibao atExpo 2010 inShanghai. The names and designs of Expo mascots are often intended to reflect the exposition's host city in some way.
The anthem of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) is the starting part of the 4th Movement ofDvořák'sSymphony No. 9 in E Minor "From the New World".[citation needed]
