The Exposition universelle, internationale et coloniale 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 ...
including a
colonial exhibition
A colonial exhibition was a type of international exhibition that was held to boost trade. During the 1880s and beyond, colonial exhibitions had the additional aim of bolstering popular support for the various colonial empires ...
held at
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 ...
in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
, France in 1894. The exposition drew unwanted attention with the assassination of French President
Sadi Carnot during his visit on 24 July 1894; he died the day after. The exposition drew 3.8 million visitors.
History
The exposition was originally planned as a national exposition to be held in 1892, but the short interval since the Paris 1889 Universal Exposition led to a postponement of two years and a call for international participation.
[Lyon 1894 : la Fête s’invite à l’Expo !](_blank)
Florence Vidal, Mémoire de master "Histoire, histoire de l’art et archéologie", Université Lyon II, September 2010
Several names were given to the project: "l’Exposition internationale et coloniale de Lyon, en 1894", "Exposition nationale de Lyon en 1894" and "l’Exposition universelle de 1894" before the eventual name "Exposition internationale et coloniale".
At the same time
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
and
Antwerp organised world's fairs as well.
3.8 million people visited the exposition,
and the success of the exposition led to renaming the neighbourhood next to the exposition from Tête d'Or to
Tonkin
Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...
de villeurbanne,
thus referring to North Vietnam (Tonkin), at that time part of French Indochina, in order to satisfy the inhabitants attracted to the exotic colonial atmosphere.
Organization
The main building of the exposition was a 55-metre high metal dome with a diameter of 242 metres. Several themes got dedicated pavilions:
* Education (''palais de l’enseignement'')
* City of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
* City of Lyon and the surroundings (département du Rhône)
* Faith (''palais des arts religieux'')
* Economy (''palais de l'économie sociale'')
* Art
* Agriculture
* Labour
* Railways
* Civil engineering
* Forestry services
French colonies were represented as well in four pavilions:
*
Algeria
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, capital = Algiers
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, relig ...
(''palais de l’Algérie'')
*
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
(''palais de la Tunisie'')
*
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
(''palais de l’Indochine'')
*
French West Africa (''palais de l’Afrique occidentale'').
See also
*
Hanoi exhibition The Hanoi Exhibition (Exposition de Hanoi) was a world's fair held in Hanoi in then French Indochina between November 16, 1902, and February 15 or 16, 1903.
Context
Hanoi had become the capital of French Indochina earlier in 1902 replacing Saigon. ...
another colonial exhibition, 8 years later, in French Indochina
References
{{List of world exhibitions
World's fairs in Lyon
French Third Republic
1894 establishments in France
19th century in Lyon
Festivals established in 1894
Colonial exhibitions