Expo '98 (1998 Lisbon World Exposition) was an official specialised

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 in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, Portugal from Friday, 22 May to Wednesday, 30 September 1998. The theme of the fair was "The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future", chosen in part to commemorate 500 years of Portuguese discoveries. The Expo received around 11 million visitors in 132 days, while 143 countries and many organizations were represented.

Before

The idea to organize a World's Fair in Portugal originated in 1989 between two Portuguese, António Taurino Mega Ferreira and

Vasco Graça Moura Vasco Navarro da Graça Moura, GCSE GCIH OSE (3 January 1942 – 27 April 2014) was a Portuguese lawyer, writer, translator and politician, son of Francisco José da Graça Moura and wife Maria Teresa Amado da Cunha Seixas Navarro de Castro, o ...

, who were in charge of organizing the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

's arrival in India in 1498. Once government support was obtained, Ferreira led the bid at 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 ...

, which in 1992 declared Lisbon the winner, against the other contender Toronto, Canada. The state-owned company ''Parque Expo'' was formed to make the Fair a self-sustaining event, with revenue coming from admission tickets and, especially, sales of real estate and parcel lots at the Expo's emplacement. The first

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of Expo '98 (and Parque Expo's CEO) was António Cardoso e Cunha. He was replaced in 1997 by José de Melo Torres Campos, after a general election resulted in a change in government. The area chosen for the Expo '98 was a -wide strip that covered in Lisbon's east-end alongside the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...

river. The area had been landscaped in 1942 as a Hydroport, for docking the hydroplanes that crossed the Atlantic to and from the US. When the modern jet planes rendered the hydroplanes obsolete, the place became an industrial park of containers, polluting industries and slaughterhouses which had seen a growing degradation over the decades. As a result, the Expo '98 was fully built from scratch. Every building was pre-sold for after-Expo repurposing thus ensuring that, after the Expo closed, the site would not be left semi-abandoned, as had happened with previous expos, particularly

Seville Expo '92 The Seville Expo '92 was a universal exposition that took place from Monday, April 20 to Monday, October 12, 1992, on La Isla de La Cartuja (Charterhouse Island), Seville, Spain. The theme for the expo was "The Age of Discovery", celebrating the ...

. As a reminder of the site's industrial past, only a refinery tower was kept and repurposed. To support the expected influx of visitors, an extensive access program was devised, including: * a new bridge across the river, the

Vasco da Gama Bridge The Vasco da Gama Bridge ( pt, Ponte Vasco da Gama; ) is a cable-stayed bridge flanked by viaducts that spans the Tagus River in Parque das Nações in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. It is the second longest bridge in Europe, after the Cr ...

(then the longest in Europe) * a new line for the

Lisbon Metro The Lisbon Metro ( pt, Metropolitano de Lisboa) is the rapid transit system in Lisbon, Portugal. Opened in December 1959, it was the first metro system in Portugal. , the system's four lines total of route and serve 56 stations. History ...

, with seven stations (five of which were ready for opening day) * a new main multi-modal terminal, featuring trains, metro, buses, and taxis, called

Gare do Oriente Gare do Oriente (), or alternately, the ''Lisbon Oriente Station'' is one of the main Portuguese intermodal transport hubs, and is situated in the civil parish of Parque das Nações, municipality of Lisbon. History In 1994, the station was pr ...

, by architect

Santiago Calatrava Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is a Spanish architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and his railway stations, stadiums, and museums, whose sculp ...

During

Pavilion of the Portugal at the 1998 Lisbon World Exposition

Expo '98 opened on 22 May 1998 with 143 countries and 14 international organizations featured in individual pavilions: almost every exhibitor respected the Expo's theme ''"The Oceans: A Heritage for the Future"''. There were additional themed pavilions dedicated to Water, Sea Knowledge, Virtual Reality (paid), The Future, Oceans, and Oceanophilia; as well as exhibitions: ''"

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on ...

@expo98 – La Dinamica dell'Acqua"'', ''"Roads of the Porcelain"'', and ''"Shells and Man"''. Additional attractions included: a 15,000-seater Utopia Pavilion with a resident theatrical show, Camões Theatre, nautical exhibition, Garcia de Orta tropical gardens, Swatch Pavilion, ''"World of Coca-Cola"'' exhibition, Expo Adrenalin, 120-metre-tall observation tower (paid),

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ...

(paid), and the nightly water-show ''"Acqua Matrix"''. Out of the five major themed pavilions at Lisbon's Expo 98, the Utopia Pavilion was among the most popular. Reflecting the Expo's overall theme of ''"The Oceans: a Heritage for the Future"'' and designed by the renowned François Confino and Philippe Genty, the pavilion featured a large-scale multimedia show that presented the oceans as stimulators of imagery, taking visitors on a voyage from the creation of the world to the present day. Combining traditional stage technology with highly innovative special effects and mechanical controls, ''gsmprjct intégration'' handled all of the logistics and technical direction of the project. Housed in a custom-built covered stadium with a seating capacity of 10,000, the show was performed over 500 times, making it the first World's Fair show to be seen by over 3 million people. The Oceania Virtual Reality Pavilion was the biggest hit of Lisbon's Expo 98, attracting over half a million visitors in a four-month period. Even so, the average waiting time to get in was around 4 hours. It consisted of a virtual submarine voyage to an underwater base where visitors discovered the ruins of a lost civilization and encountered a sea monster before escaping back to the surface in Teleport capsules. Despite being the only pavilion at Expo 98 that required an additional admission fee, people spent hours waiting in line for this breathtaking 30-minute thrill ride that made use of seamlessly integrated simulators, virtual reality visors, and interactive projections.

gsmprjct° GSM Project is a Montreal-based company specialized in the design and production of thematic installations and exhibitions mainly for museums.pavilion of Portugal hosted the Portuguese national representation during the event. It was designed by

Álvaro Siza Vieira Álvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira (born 25 June 1933) is a Portuguese architect, and architectural educator. He is internationally known as Álvaro Siza () and in Portugal as Siza Vieira (). Early life and education Siza was born in Matosi ...

. The entrance to the building was covered by a large concrete veil, mimicking a paper sheet linking two main buildings and opening a wide urban space. The total number of visitors of the Expo '98 reached 10,128,204, for a duration of 132 days. Admission prices (adult) were 5,000 escudos PTE (US$34 at then-exchange rates) for one day, 12,500 escudos ($84) for three non-consecutive days, and 50,000 escudos ($334) for three months. The Oceans Pavilion, built to be the

Lisbon Oceanarium The Lisbon Oceanarium ( pt, Oceanário de Lisboa, ) is an oceanarium in Lisbon, Portugal. It is located in the '' Parque das Nações'', which was the exhibition grounds for the Expo '98. It is one of the largest indoor aquariums in Europe. Arch ...

after the Expo closed, had the longest lines. Other popular pavilions, with lines of up to five hours on busier days, included Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Germany, and Virtual Reality.

Logo, Mascot and Music

The Expo logo symbolizes the Sea and the Sun. It was conceived by Portuguese Augusto Tavares Dias, creative director in an advertising agency, and selected from 1,288 entries. The Expo mascot was conceived by the Portuguese duo of painter António Modesto and sculptor Artur Moreira. It was selected from 309 entries. It is named Gil, after Portuguese navigator

Gil Eanes Gil Eanes (or Eannes, in the old Portuguese spelling; ) was a 15th-century Portuguese navigator and explorer. Biography Gil Eanes was born in Lagos in 1395. Little is known about his personal life prior to his role in the Portuguese Age of Dis ...

. The name was chosen by high-school student José Luís Coelho, from 765 entries. Gil turned the RTP mascot and can be see on the station main events. The official music theme for the Expo 98 was called "

Pangaea Pangaea or Pangea () was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 million y ...

" and was written by Nuno Rebelo. It combined chants and instruments from the five continents over an epic full orchestral score.

After

Expo '98 closed on 30 September 1998. The last day saw more than 300 thousand visitors enter, there to see the closing fireworks show, the largest ever presented in Portugal. The site remained closed until February 1999, when it reopened as ''

Parque das Nações The Parque das Nações (; en, Park of the Nations), colloquially known as Expo (as the site of the 1998 Lisbon World Exposition), is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in eastern Lisbon, Parque das Naçõ ...

'' (Park of the Nations), a free-access park, keeping the gardens,

Oceanarium An oceanarium can be either a marine mammal park, such as Marineland of Canada, or a large-scale aquarium, such as the Lisbon Oceanarium, presenting an ocean habitat with marine animals, especially large ocean dwellers such as sharks. First ma ...

(Europe's then-largest aquarium), observation tower, funicular, and the Virtual Reality pavilion. Other buildings were re-purposed for the opening, including: * the main entrance (sun door), converted to Centro Vasco da Gama, a regional shopping mall (opened on 27 April 1999) * the main exhibition pavilions, converted to Feira Internacional de Lisboa (Lisbon International Exhibition Fair) * Utopia Pavilion, converted to Pavilhão Atlântico (now

Altice Arena Altice Arena (formerly MEO Arena; also referred to by its original name, Pavilhão Atlântico) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Lisbon, Portugal. The arena is among the largest indoor arenas in Europe and the largest in Portugal with a capacit ...

, after the naming rights were sold to a sponsor), Lisbon's main multi-purpose indoor arena * Knowledge of the Seas Pavilion, converted to Knowledge Pavilion, a hands-on science museum * Territory Pavilion, converted to a bowling alley, but subsequently demolished * Future Pavilion, now the Casino Lisboa. Within Parque das Nações, every other building or vacant parcel lot was sold for office or living space, to offset the Expo's costs. The Virtual Reality Pavilion was closed on 31 August 2002 and later demolished. The area today is thriving, modern, stylish, and safe, attracting 18 million tourists a year to its gardens, museums, commercial areas and modern buildings. It has also become permanent residency for up to 25,000 people and one of Lisbon's premier business centers, with many multinational corporations basing their headquarters in its main avenue. Parque Expo had lived beyond Expo '98, not just managing the infrastructure of Parque das Nações but, having acquired the know-how in urban conversion and planning, sold its advising and consultancy services to other cities around the world. The company was extinct at the end of 2012 and the former territory of the exposition became a new parish of Lisbon municipality.

References

;Sources *

External links

Expo 1998 review, maps and photos of all pavilions by WorldExpositions.infoOfficial website of the BIE

Parque das Nações official site

Expo '98 page at BIEExpo '98 page at ExpoMuseum
{{coord, 38.7677, N, 9.0958, W, source:wikidata, display=title 1998 in Portugal Events in Lisbon 1990s in Lisbon World's fairs in Portugal