• 1855: The facade of the Palais de l'Industrie at the Paris World's Fair. Drawn and engraved by Fichot. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
    1855: The facade of the Palais de l'Industrie at the Paris World's Fair. Drawn and engraved by Fichot. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
  • 1873: The rotunda at the Vienna International Exhibition. J Bobenetter/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
    1873: The rotunda at the Vienna International Exhibition. J Bobenetter/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
  • 1876: President Grant and the Emperor of Brazil starting a huge 1500hp Corliss steam engine at the 1876 American Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
    1876: President Grant and the Emperor of Brazil starting a huge 1500hp Corliss steam engine at the 1876 American Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
  • 1933: A program cover from the 'Century of Progress' exhibition at Chicago World's Fair. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
    1933: A program cover from the 'Century of Progress' exhibition at Chicago World's Fair. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
  • 1937: Crowds of people wander among the large statues on display in the Soviet pavilion with the Worker and Kolkhoz Woman exhibit, designed by Vera Mukhina (1889-1953), in the background, at the International Exposition dedicated to Art and Technology in Modern Life, in Paris. Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
    1937: Crowds of people wander among the large statues on display in the Soviet pavilion with the Worker and Kolkhoz Woman exhibit, designed by Vera Mukhina (1889-1953), in the background, at the International Exposition dedicated to Art and Technology in Modern Life, in Paris. Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
  • 1962: Built for the Century 21 Exposition held in Seattle, the Space Needle stands 185 metres tall and the summit, with a revolving restaurant, can be reached by a lift. A. Dawburne/Fox Photos/Getty Images
    1962: Built for the Century 21 Exposition held in Seattle, the Space Needle stands 185 metres tall and the summit, with a revolving restaurant, can be reached by a lift. A. Dawburne/Fox Photos/Getty Images
  • 1967: Aerial view of the 1967 Expo fairgrounds in Montreal, Canada, 1967. A monorail runs throughout the middle of the fairgrounds, next to the Place D'Accueil entranceway (centre). Harvey Meston/Getty Images)
    1967: Aerial view of the 1967 Expo fairgrounds in Montreal, Canada, 1967. A monorail runs throughout the middle of the fairgrounds, next to the Place D'Accueil entranceway (centre). Harvey Meston/Getty Images)
  • 1970: Representing two aspects of the French pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan.
    1970: Representing two aspects of the French pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan.
  • 2000: People wait in a long queue in front of the Dutch pavilion at the Expo 2000 world fair in Hanover. RTXK3IG
    2000: People wait in a long queue in front of the Dutch pavilion at the Expo 2000 world fair in Hanover. RTXK3IG
  • 2005: People visit on the final day of the Aichi Expo in Nagakute, Japan. The Aichi Expo attracted more than 22,000,000 visitors. Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images
    2005: People visit on the final day of the Aichi Expo in Nagakute, Japan. The Aichi Expo attracted more than 22,000,000 visitors. Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images
  • 2008: The Zaragoza Bridge Pavilion at the Expo Zaragoza, in Spain designed by architect Zaha Hadid, UIG via Getty Images
    2008: The Zaragoza Bridge Pavilion at the Expo Zaragoza, in Spain designed by architect Zaha Hadid, UIG via Getty Images
  • 2010: Visitors queue up to enter the UK Pavilion on the second day of the Shanghai World Expo in Shanghai, China. Feng Li/Getty Images
    2010: Visitors queue up to enter the UK Pavilion on the second day of the Shanghai World Expo in Shanghai, China. Feng Li/Getty Images
  • YEOSU, SOUTH KOREA - APRIL 20: Workers construct the 2012 Yeosu Expo facilities on April 20, 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea. More than 105 countries, 10 International Organizations and 10 million visitors are expected to participate in the expo that will open on May 12 to August 12. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
    YEOSU, SOUTH KOREA - APRIL 20: Workers construct the 2012 Yeosu Expo facilities on April 20, 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea. More than 105 countries, 10 International Organizations and 10 million visitors are expected to participate in the expo that will open on May 12 to August 12. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

UAE

In pictures: World Expo time machine, look back on 162 years of history

Mark Asquith

November 28, 2013

  • English
  • Arabic

As Dubai and the UAE celebrate the future of the World Expo winning the 2020 event we take a look back on its rich past from its beginnings in 1851 in London’s Crystal Palace, of which an upcoming writer named Charles Dickens said: “I’m not saying there’s nothing to see, but that there’s too much to see.”

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