The Portuguese World Exhibition ( pt, Exposição do Mundo Português) was held in Lisbon in 1940 to mark 800 years since the foundation of the country and 300 years since the restoration of independence from Spain. The fair ran from 23 June to 2 December 1940, held on the Praça do Império, and was attended by 3 million people.

Organizers

Augusto de Castro was the commissioner general,

Júlio Dantas Júlio Dantas, GCC (1876 – 1962) was a Portuguese doctor, poet, journalist, politician, diplomat and dramatist. He was born in Lagos and was a prolific writer; he cultivated various literary genres, from poetry to novels and journalis ...

president of committee, the master architect,

António Ferro António Joaquim Tavares Ferro (17 August 1895, Lisbon - 11 November 1956, Lisbon) was a Portuguese writer, journalist and politician, associated with the Estado Novo. Biography In 1915, when he was barely 19, his friend, Mário de Sá Carneir ...

(director), and lead engineer Duarte Pacheco. The exhibition was opened by President Carmona, with Oliveira Salazar also in attendance.

The fair was divided into three main sections of display: history, ethnography, and the colonial world.

Monument to Discoveries

A monument to the discoveries of Portugal ''Padrão dos Descobrimentos'' was designed by Pardal Monteiro and Cottinelli Telmo and erected in the Praça do Império (it was dismantled in 1943).

Nautical sports

A modernist restaurant and beer hall was designed by António Lino with guidance from Cottinelli Telmo. In 2014, it was remodelled to become a nightclub and bar.

Popular life

The pavilion of popular life was designed by Veloso Reis and João Simões and after the exhibition was refurbished and opened as Lisbon's Museum of Popular Art in 1948.

Brazil

The Brazil pavilion, named ''Independent Brazilian Pavilion'', was designed by Raul Lino, with interiors by Roberto Lacombe. Its contents included a large photographic mural and a reading room with 5000 works. It had an art section including paintings by Lucílio de Albuquerque, Arthur Timótheo da Costa, Oscar Pereira da Silva and

Candido Portinari Candido Portinari (December 29, 1903 – February 6, 1962) was a Brazilian painter. He is considered one of the most important Brazilian painters as well as a prominent and influential practitioner of the neo-realism style in painting. Portinari ...

Nau Portugal

Nau Portugal was a galleon replica, built by the Mónicas's Family Shipyard, it was exhibited near the Maritime Discoveries Pavilion. It suffered irreparable damage in the cyclone of 1941. After that, it was dismantled and transformed into a barge.

References

{{Belém (Lisbon)

World Exhibition 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 ...

Belém (Lisbon) Events in Lisbon 1940 in Portugal 1940s in Lisbon 1940 establishments in Portugal 1940 disestablishments in Portugal Colonial exhibitions