World Expo 88 - The Fair

The Fair

A ticket to the fair allowed entry to the World Expo Park amusement park at the same location. Although originally intended to be a permanent feature, the park remained open for only one year after Expo had closed.

The Expo sunsails and the Expo tower Night Companion can be seen clearly here, as well as the monorail. Some of the rides of the World Expo Park can be seen in the background. The 'cubistic flotilla' can be seen in the foreground. World Expo 88 was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on Saturday, 30 April 1988 to much fanfare. The fair attracted more than 18 million visitors, including staff and VIPs, more than double the predicted 7.8 million, and was considered a turning point in the history of Brisbane, which had recently successfully hosted the XIIth Commonwealth Games in 1982. With Expo 88 Queensland had transformed itself from a northern backwater into Australia's "most progressive state".


The Commissioner General for World Expo 88 was Sir Edward Williams (who was also the Chairman for the also very successful XIIth Commonwealth Games). The Chairman and Chief Executive former State Government Minister, Sir Llewellyn Edwards was appointed in February 1984. The General Manager was Bob Miniken and the Entertainment Director was Ric Birch. Landscaping at the site was done by Brisbane landscape architect Lawrie Smith. The landscaping was based on nine precincts and used more than 150,000 temperate and tropical plants.

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