Expo 2000
| EXPO Hannover 2000 | |
|---|---|
Expo 2000 logo
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| Overview | |
| BIE-class | Universal exposition |
| Name | Expo 2000 |
| Building | Expo 2000 DachHolzkonstruktion |
| Area | 160 hectares (400 acres) |
| Visitors | 18,000,000 |
| Participant(s) | |
| Countries | 180 |
| Organizations | 2 |
| Location | |
| Country | Germany |
| City | Hannover |
| Venue | Kronsberg |
| Coordinates | 52°19′18″N 9°48′44″E / 52.32167°N 9.81222°E |
| Timeline | |
| Bidding | 1988 |
| Awarded | June 14, 1990 |
| Opening | June 1, 2000 |
| Closure | October 31, 2000 |
| Universal expositions | |
| Previous | Seville Expo '92 in Seville |
| Next | Expo 2010 in Shanghai |
| Specialized expositions | |
| Previous | Expo '98 in Lisbon |
| Next | Expo 2005 in Aichi |
| Horticultural expositions | |
| Previous | 1999 Kunming in Kunming |
| Next | Floriade 2002 in Haarlemmermeer |
Expo 2000 was a World's Fair held in Hanover, Germany from Thursday, June 1 to Tuesday, October 31, 2000. It was located on the Hanover fairground (Messegelände Hannover), which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially some 40 million people were expected to attend the exhibition over the course of months, however eventually with less than half of this number the fair was a flop and turned out a financial failure.
The fair's masterplan was designed in a joint venture with Studio d'Arnaboldi / Cavadini, Locarno and AS&P (Albert Speer und Partner GmbH).
On June 14, 1990, the international world's fair organization B.I.E. awarded Expo 2000 to Hannover, beating out Toronto by a 21 to 20 vote. In 1992, the architects Studio Arnaboldi/Cavadini of Locarno won an international design competition for the masterplan of the exhibition grounds. On June 12 of that same year, a survey conducted by the city council was made public showing only 51.5% of area residents supported hosting the expo.
On May 5, 1994, a new company was created by the government in Bonn, Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung und Durchführung der Weltausstellung EXPO 2000 in Hannover (EXPO 2000 Hannover GmbH). Headed by chairman Helmut Werner, the company was responsible for the construction and management of the fair.
In 1995, the supervisory board agreed on the concept for the thematics of the fair. Construction finally began on April 22, 1996.
Unlike previous expos, which focused on present advances in science and technology, EXPO 2000 focused more on developing and presenting solutions for the future.
The fair opened to the public on Thursday, June 1, 2000 and ran five months, ending on Tuesday, October 31.
The Expo site was situated on the original 1,000,000 square meters of the Hanover fairground; an additional 600,000 m² was also made available as a newly opened section to the grounds. As a visitor walked in and tickets were taken, looking above to the approximately four-story-high ceiling, a visitor would have noticed the huge circular pods that held large TVs showing animated people greeting the visitors and providing tourist information in different languages. Some ten large McDonald's restaurants were also built, along with restaurants representing several of the exhibitor countries. Small retail locations were also set up to supply Expo merchandise. The United States reversed its decision to take part at a relatively late stage, and the area set aside for the American pavilion was left undeveloped.
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