World Expo 88

World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a World's Fair held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of the Expo was "Leisure in the Age of Technology", and the mascot for the Expo was an Australian platypus named Expo Oz.

The A$625 million fair was the largest event of the 1988 Bicentennial celebrations of the European settlement of Australia. Expo 88 attracted more than 15,760,000 visitors who bought tickets worth A$175 million. The event achieved both its economic aims and very good attendances, was successfully used to promote Queensland as a tourist destination and it spurred a major re-development at the South Brisbane site. The core feature of the site were the international pavilions. Many of the exposition's sculptures and buildings were retained by various entities around the state and are still in use or on display today.

History

Origins

The origins for a world expo for Brisbane commenced soon after James Maccormick MBE OAM, architect for the Australia Pavilion at Expo '67, Expo '70 and Expo '74, was commissioned to do an urban renewal study for Kangaroo Point in the early 70s. It occurred to Maccormick that an exposition would be an ideal catalyst for such a redevelopment, and he later hosted meetings with prominent Queensland business persons and government representatives to such purpose. With the Australian Bicentenary looming in 1988, other Australian capitals sought means by which to celebrate the event, including hosting of a Universal Exposition and/or Olympic Games. Sydney and Melbourne both made representations to the Federal Government for matching dollar for dollar funding for a Universal Exposition in the 1988 bicentennial year, however, citing the costs of the new Parliament House in Canberra, also to be opened in the same year, these proposals were knocked back.