Q. When was the last world's fair held? -- M.H.
A. World's Fairs date back to the 1851 Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, held in the Crystal Palace in London.
And reports of their death have been greatly exaggerated: They are still being held, every five years. The next one will take place next year, from May 1 to Oct. 31 in Shanghai, China.
According to the Expo's Web site, at en.expo2010.cn, organizers expect 70 million visitors. "So far, 192 countries and 50 international organizations have confirmed participation in Expo 2010," it says.
The last World's Fair held in the United States was the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans. That may be why many people here don't realize that such events still exist.
Many Americans "are surprised that fairs still take place. But they're the third-largest international event after the Olympics and the World Cup," Urso Chappell, an expert on World's Fairs, told the Chicago Tribune in 2007.
World's Fairs are governed by the Bureau of International Expositions, which is based in Paris. The World's Fairs have general themes and last no more than six months. The bureau also sanctions smaller expositions on specialized themes, which are supposed to last no more than three months. The 1982 International Energy Exposition in Knoxville, Tenn., was one of those expos.
Much more information about World's Fairs is available at Chappell's Web site, expomuseum.com.
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