The (; or Lyon Fair) is a

trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and c ...

, traditionally held in March in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, France. Begun as an initiative by Lyon mayor

Édouard Herriot Édouard Marie Herriot (; 5 July 1872 – 26 March 1957) was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister (1924–1925; 1926; 1932) and twice as President of the Chamber of Deputies. He led the ...

in 1916, the fair has been held in the

Eurexpo Eurexpo is a convention center and exhibition hall in the commune of Chassieu, south-east of Lyon. It is the site of the annual Foire de Lyon. Description Built in 1984, the site includes 13,000 parking spaces, a total exhibition space of m ...

convention center in

Chassieu Chassieu (; frp, Chassiô) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Population Twin town Chassieu has been twinned with Coleshill, England, near Birmingham since 1983. See also * Eurexpo ...

since 1985.

History

The creation of the Foire de Lyon began in 1916 through an initiative by then mayor

. He decided to build a vast "Palace" to accommodate the commercial stalls that were crowding the quays and streets, and impeding traffic flow in the area. The Fair Palace was built from 1918 to 1938 on land located between the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

and

Parc de la Tête d'Or The Parc de la Tête d'or (English: "Park of the Golden Head") is a large urban park in Lyon, France, with an area of approximately . Located in the northern part of the 6th arrondissement, it features the Jardin botanique de Lyon, as well as a l ...

. Subsequent construction did not adhere to the original plan. The buildings of the Fair Palace were ultimately destroyed to make room for the

Cité Internationale (International City) is a quarter in the 6th arrondissement of Lyon, France. It is situated between the Rhône and Parc de la Tête d'Or and encompasses an area that had previously been the location of the Foire de Lyon. It is connected to t ...

, leaving only the main façade of the central pavilion, now integrated into the

Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon The Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon is a museum devoted to contemporary art, located in the 6th arrondissement of Lyon, in the Cité Internationale, next to the cinema, in front of the Parc de la Tête d'Or. It had over 42,000 visitors in 2007. ...

. In 1985 the fair was moved to the

convention center in the commune of

, east of the

Metropolis of Lyon The Metropolis of Lyon (french: Métropole de Lyon), also known as ("Greater Lyon"), is a French territorial collectivity located in the east-central region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is a directly elected metropolitan authority encompassing t ...

Themes

Each edition of the fair, starting from 2006, is devoted to a particular theme. * 2006The People of Tibet, with

Maurice Herzog Maurice André Raymond Herzog (15 January 191913 December 2012) was a French mountaineer and administrator who was born in Lyon, France. He led the 1950 French Annapurna expedition that first climbed a peak over 8000m, Annapurna, in 1950, and r ...

as sponsor * 2007Indonesia * 2008India * 2009Cinema, with

Clovis Cornillac Clovis Cornillac (born 16 August 1968) is a French actor, film director, and screenwriter. Life and career Clovis Cornillac was born to actors Myriam Boyer and Roger Cornillac. He started studying theatre at the age of 14. He made his debut ...

as sponsor * 2010

Japanese culture The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ance ...

* 2011

Outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

* 2012Native Americans, with sponsor Harlyn Geronimo, great grandson of

Geronimo Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache ba ...

* 2013New York – New York! Exposition on New York City, with Douglas Kennedy as sponsor * 2014Rock Story, an exposition on the history of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, with

Philippe Manœuvre Philippe Manœuvre (born 19 June 1954) is a French music journalist. He has been a radio and television presenter, specialized in rock music. He has been editor-in-chief for the magazine '' Métal Hurlant'' and was the editor-in-chief of the mu ...

as artistic advisor and sponsor * 2015 (Connected Objects) * 2016 (The Lyon Fair Celebrates 100 Years!) * 2017Viva Cuba * 2018London Edition * 2019San Francisco

References

External links

Official website
{{in lang, fr Culture in Lyon Annual events in France Exhibitions in France Spring (season) events in France