There was a World’s Fair in New Orleans in 1984. That was the last US participation. In 2002, the USA had its membership in the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE – the sanctioning body of the World’s Fair) withdrawn due to non-allocation of funds by Congress. Can you say war funding? The US quietly becomes more egocentric and disconnected from the world. I know I as a citizen did not realize until today that we, as a country, no longer participate in the World’s Fair which dates back to 1851. Way to be a world leader!
Look for further discussion at Atomic Tumor.
I think the discussion on the tumor has degenerated into something about beer.
I find it ironic, because I don’t know of other countries that have been doing fairs lately. In the day, it was like having an open house, a country does a fair, makes the city look nice, everybody comes and spends a month or so, and goes back home.
I find it ironic, that now, when global travel is so easy and affordable, the fair (exposition) is extinct. Could it be because global media already shows us what these places are like?
Is it apathy?
Having checked good old Wikipedia, it appears that the rest of the world has been trucking with the Fairs, and that Spain’s going to throw one in a couple of years. Damn.
I guess it is the country. But whats screwed up about it is that participation in something like a fair, as a society, would probably go a long way toward redeeming us in the eyes of the world.
Course, I don’t think most Americans care much for redemption.