International Fair Plovdiv ( bg, Международен панаир Пловдив), held in

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

, is

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

's largest and oldest international

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 ...

. It was established in August 1892 as an industrial and agricultural show, and attracts more than 600,000 visitors from many countries. During its first year, the Plovdiv Fair had an exhibition area of 90,000 m², participants from 24 countries and 162,000 visitors during its two and a half months. A National Industrial Exhibition was organized in 1933 that had 424 exhibitors and 120,000 visitors, being the first sample fair in Plovdiv. A second followed in 1934, when the Plovdiv Fair was proclaimed permanent and the only in Bulgaria on 16 May. The fair officially became an international one by joining

Union des Foires Internationales Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...

(UFI) in 1936, when over 1,000 Bulgarian and 385 foreign companies took part. It was used for

Expo 81 The Plovdiv International Exhibition of 1981 was regulated by the Bureau International des Expositions and took place from June 14 to July 12, 1981 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The exhibition had an area of 51 hectares. The sample application was filed on ...

, Expo 85 and

Expo 91 The International Exhibition in Plovdiv was an international exhibition that was held from June 7 to July 7 of 1991 in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, under the theme of "The creative activity of young inventors at the service of a world peace." Th ...

. The modern International Fair Plovdiv is situated in a large-scale exhibition complex of 360,000 m², of which 95,000 m² exhibition area (and 60,000 m² indoor). The fair has 24 multifunctional pavilions and has the largest capacity in

Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...

. Some 40 shows are held a year, in which 7,000 exhibitors from 58 countries participate.

References

External links

Official website
Trade fairs in Bulgaria Economy of Plovdiv Recurring events established in 1892 Tourist attractions in Plovdiv World's fair sites in Europe {{bulgaria-stub