International Exhibitions: World's Fairs

Also known as the World’s Fairs, the first and second International Exhibitions of Barcelona occurred in 1888 and 1929. These exhibitions drew in millions and millions of people from several different countries across Europe and the world. The economic, architectural and technological growth of Barcelona was on display during these festivals (Hochadel and Nieto-Galan 2016: 3). The countries visiting each of these exhibitions or World’s Fairs were able to see how the city of Barcelona was growing in many different ways.

The first International Exhibition occurred over a two-month time span in 1888 and brought in a crowd of approximately 2.3 million people with about 30 countries participating. Approximately $1.7 million was made from the World’s Fair. This exhibition celebrated the urbanization of Barcelona and was a place for Spain, especially Catalonia, to show the industrial growth and technological advances. Following the first international exhibition, electric street lighting was installed all throughout Barcelona. This was due to the sharing of ideas from several different countries that occurred during the exhibition.

The second International Exhibition took place over an eight-month time span in 1929 and cost around $25 million. This exhibition hosted twenty European nations as well as a few private companies from the United States and Japan. With a need for facilities to display the industry, sport, and art developments, an opportunity arose for, “engineers and architects to experiment with new styles and techniques” (Jessop 2016). This was another opportunity for Catalans to advertise themselves and their people’s talent along with the information and materials displayed within the pavilions and buildings.

Also, when preparing for this event, Barcelona had the opportunity to showcase discoveries and developments of the time period as well as its geography and environment. Conrad Kent, the author of Barcelona article “From Pleasure Gardens to Places Dures,” states, “Traditionally, the city [Barcelona] has underscored its autonomy by preparing for international expositions […] commemorated in spectacular monuments and urban transformations” (Kent 2002: 221). In the early twentieth century, Barcelona was undergoing urban planning, especially in regards to their environment and nature. This continued into preparation for the exhibition, as Jean-Claude-Nicolas Forestier, a Barcelonian garden planner, was hired specifically for developing the gardens of Montjuïc to help transform the area, and in transitivity, the city (Kent 2002: 227).  Engineering advancements involving technology were utilized with the help of engineer Marian Rubió. In fact, exploring the exhibition ensured a sight of the collaboration of “engineering professionals and […] the urbanization of Montjuïc hill” especially in the aspect of mechanical rides and amusement parks (Sastre-Juan and Valentines-Alvarez 2016: 108-09). While Barcelona did take this opportunity to show off their resources a bit, each country to attend was able to play a role. It was the International Exhibition after all.

While most decoration and construction was completed by the host city, pavilions displaying specific county achievements were designed by their native architects (Jessop 2016). So, from the spring of 1929 to the early winter of 1930, Montjuïc was a melting pot of architecture and cultural development from all parts of the globe.

Interestingly enough, accounts of the exhibition have a lot more to say about the view of Montjuïc and its gardens and cultural spaces than they do about the scientific content. Photographs commemorating the event were focused on the exteriors of the pavilions rather than its subjects. This is because the images mirrored, “the censored official press, which only depicted surfaces” like the opening ceremonies and sanctioned celebrations (Ferran and Nieto Galan 2016: 227). Barcelona is very well known for its numerous parks and recreational areas, but of those areas only two have the history of being hosts of International Exhibitions. Montjuïc underwent quite the transformation in the early 20th century; its alteration not only served its purpose as the location for the great event, but it also altered Barcelona’s urban landscape and history forever.

—Edited by Irina Swain and Benjamin Fraser with text from Lillie Rhodes and Brooke Palmer