The International Textile Exhibition of 1951 was held at the ‘Grand Palais de la Foire de Lille’ in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, France. The palace, which was erected in 1932, but had been damaged during the Second World War, was remodelled in time for the Expo.

Georges Bidault Georges-Augustin Bidault (; 5 October 189927 January 1983) was a French politician. During World War II, he was active in the French Resistance. After the war, he served as foreign minister and prime minister on several occasions. He joined the ...

, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers and André Guillant, Secretary of State for Industry and Commerce, attended the opening ceremony of the Expo on 28 April 1951. Recognised by 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 o ...

as a Specialised Expo, the event welcomed delegates from 22 countries attracted 1.5 million visitors over a period of just three weeks, and was covered by 150 journalists.

References

World's fairs in France 1951 in France History of Lille Textile arts exhibitions {{Festival-stub