Written by Hui Jie Pictures by Courtesy of Hui Jie

Title: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles, 1935

Duration：April 27, 1935—November 6, 1935

Theme：Peace Through Competitions

Major Pavilions: Memorial Hall and the Hall of Arts

Area: 250 acres.

Participating countries: 30

Visitors: 20 million

As the capital of Belgium, Brussels has hosted four World Expos, with the World Expo 1935 Brussels attracting around 20 million visitors. In the eyes of many people, there is no other Expo like the Expo Brussels in reflecting the needs of the times, and for this it was regarded as a special event in the history of global development.

A theme calling for peace

Brussels just weathered the most severe economic crisis in 1935 in its capitalism history, but the city soon discovered that Hitler has turned Germany, Belgium’s neighbor to the east, into a fascist country. A prevailing peace-seeking thought spread quickly among western European countries, and people are calling for every conceivable effort to stave off the war. The World Expo held in Brussels this year took up this peaceful mission as a matter of result. The theme of the Expo was“Peace Through Competitions”, as the organizers hoped that the participating countries could launch technology and economic competition via the Expo platform, bringing eternal peace in Europe, instead of the traditional arms race. During the short duration of the World Expo Brussels, the eyes of the World were temporally riveted upon the daily lives featuring technology, arts and economic development, and the effort to call for peace by Brussels was spread to the world through its provocative theme, bringing an opportunity for the rip-roaring world to contemplate.

Architecture·Exhibits·Window display

The Expo1935 has opted for the design of eternal buildings in terms of architecture design, with the outlook of the Memorial Hall and the Pavilion of Arts, the two thematic buildings, reminiscent of ancient styles while lacking a sense of modernity. In terms of public parks, the organizers chose to build new entertainment parks, artificial lakes and an outdoor stadium that could accommodate 75,000 people, which was built for the sports events held during the World Expo. Soccer was the most influential event at that time. The nostalgic atmosphere of the World channeled the attention of most visitors to the exhibits. Major categories of the 1935 World Expo exhibits are: scientific instrument and art works, farmland soil and bottom soil, conversion technology, energy, civil projects, public architecture, garments and accessories, tourism and sports.

The exhibition design was also one of the eye-catching aspects, as many companies participated in this World Expo, trying to create a multi-layered visual effect by focusing upon the arrangement of exhibits in the limited space in a bid to make their exhibits stand out among similar ones. A large number of window booths were set up in the section of garments and accessories, which was to some extent the inception of modern business exhibition. The appearance of window display added colors to the World Expo, and it also embodied the vigor and vitality of commercial culture.