Franco-British Exhibition (1908)
The Franco-British Exhibition (1908) was a large public fair held in London in the early years of the 20th century. The exhibition attracted 8 million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordiale signed in 1904 by the United Kingdom and France. The chief architect of the buildings was John Belcher.
The Exhibition was held in an area of west London near Shepherd's Bush which is now called White City: the area acquired its name from the exhibition buildings which were all painted white. The 1908 Summer Olympics fencing events were held in the district alongside the festivities.
The fair was the largest exhibition of its kind in Britain, and the first international exhibition co-organised and sponsored by two countries. It covered an area of some 140 acres (0.57 km2), including an artificial lake, surrounded by an immense network of white buildings in elaborate (often Oriental) styles.
The most popular attractions at the exhibition were the two so-called "colonial villages"—an "Irish village" and a "Senegalese village", which were designed to communicate the success of imperialism. The Irish village ("Ballymaclinton") was inhabited by 150 "colleens" (Irish girls) who demonstrated various forms of domestic industry, as well as displays of manufacturing and even an art gallery. The "Senegalese village" was a so-called "native village" displaying day-to-day life, as well as various artefacts. Press reports commented on the "surprising cleanliness" of the Irish, while readers were reminded that the Senegalese were "cleaner than they looked".
Limericks were used to advertise this event:
In 1937, a large portion of the White City site was cleared to make way for a housing estate. During the clearance, the Flip Flap, and a number of other White City structures, were sold for scrap to the steel firm George Cohen, Sons and Co Limited—the same company who had dismantled the Great Wheel of the Earl's Court Exhibition, and went on to dismantle the Skylon, dome, and ten other buildings, at the Festival of Britain site in 1952.
On 14 August, a balloon owned by American balloonist Capt. Lovelace exploded at the exhibition, killing his 18-year-old secretary and a male employee. Six others were injured, including a 47-year-old employee who died days after the accident. Newspaper reports indicated that the explosion occurred when a lighted match was thrown to the ground during preparations for a flight.
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