The Brussels International Exposition of 1935 (french: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles de 1935, nl, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling van 1935) was a
world's fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
held between 27 April and 6 November 1935 on the
Heysel/Heizel Plateau in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium.
History
The 1935 World's Fair was the tenth
world's fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
hosted by Belgium, and the fourth in Brussels, following the fairs in 1888,
1897
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City.
* January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puni ...
and
1910
Events
January
* January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...
. Officially sanctioned by the
Bureau International des Expositions
The Bureau international des expositions (BIE; English: International Bureau of Expositions) is an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions (also known as expos or world expos) falling under the jurisdiction ...
(BIE), twenty-five countries officially participated
and a further five were unofficially represented. The theme was colonisation, on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the
Congo Free State
''(Work and Progress)
, national_anthem = Vers l'avenir
, capital = Vivi Boma
, currency = Congo Free State franc
, religion = Catholicism (''de facto'')
, leader1 = Leop ...
.
The exhibition attracted some twenty million visitors.
The Belgian architect
Joseph van Neck
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
was the principal architect of the fair and of the
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
''Palais des Expositions'' (also known as the ''Grand Palais''), with its interior concrete
parabolic arches, and four heroic
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...
statues on piers.
Among many other contributors,
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...
designed part of the French exhibit; the Belgian modernist architect
Victor Bourgeois designed the ''Palais des Expositions'' (or ''Grand Palais''), the
Leopold II restaurant and the ''Soprocol'' pavilion. The Belgian art exposition prominently displayed the work of contemporary Belgian artists, including
Paul Delvaux,
René Magritte
René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bound ...
and
Louis Van Lint, boosting their careers.
The ''Palais des Expositions'', and at least three other of the 1935 structures, were re-used for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (
Expo '58), which was held on the same site in 1958.
Gallery
File:EXPO Bruxelles 1935-A.jpg, The main entrance
File:EXPO Bruxelles 1935-C.jpg, General view
File:EXPO Bruxelles 1935-D.jpg, View towards the ''Palais des Expositions''
File:EXPO Bruxelles 1935-F.jpg, The ''Catholic life'' pavilion
See also
* The poster for the exhibition was designed by
Leo Marfurt
*
Brussels Expo
The Brussels Exhibition Centre (french: Parc des Expositions de Bruxelles, nl, Tentoonstellingspark van Brussel), also known as Brussels Expo, is the most important event complex in Brussels, Belgium. Located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in L ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
Official website of the BIEBIE description(PDF)
{{Authority control
World's fairs in Brussels
1935 in Belgium
1930s in Brussels
Events in Brussels