Bureau of International Expositions - International/Specialised Expositions

International/Specialised Expositions

Since the start of the 21st Century, International/Specialised Expositions may occur between Universal Expositions and last from six weeks to three months in duration, i.e. Expo 2008 in Zaragoza (Spain), Expo 2012 in Yeosu (South Korea). Countries, international organizations, civil societies, and corporations are allowed to participate but the exposition must have a precise character for its theme. An example of a theme of a recent International Specialised Exposition is the 1988 World Exposition, popularly known as World Expo 88 of Brisbane, Australia, which had as its theme "Leisure in the Age of Technology". The pavilions are built by the hosts and not the participants, and there is no rent for pavilions. Nevertheless, the largest pavilion may be no larger than 1000 square meters, and the site of the fair must not exceed an area of twenty-five hectares. For this reason International/Specialised Expositions are cheaper to run than Universal Expositions, and more money is spent on content of the pavilion as opposed to its design. Nonetheless, there are exceptions where a participant designs and constructs its own Pavilion where ethnic work is involved, i.e. bush huts for islands of the South Pacific, a pagoda for Nepal or Japan or Thailand, etc. A nation or organization does not need to be a member of the B.I.E. to be represented at a B.I.E. Exposition.