The Expo ’98 logo

Expo '98 (in full, 1998 Lisbon World Exposition) was an official specialised World's Fair held in Lisbon, Portugal from May 22 to September 30, 1998. The theme of the fair was "The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future", chosen in part to commemorate 500 years of Portuguese discoveries. The Expo received around 10 million visitors in 132 days. 155 countries and organizations were represented. BIE considered the Lisbon's Expo the best until then. A Worlds Fair is any of various large expositions held since the mid-19th century. ... Location  - Region  - Subregion  - District or A.R.   Lisbon Grande Lisboa Lisbon Mayor  - Party Carmona Rodrigues PSD Area 84. ... May 22 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (143rd in leap years). ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 92 days remaining. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Provinces of Angola ...

Before

The idea to organize a World's Fair in Portugal originated in 1989 between two Portuguese - António Mega Ferreira and Vasco Graça Moura - who were in charge of organizing the commemoration of the coming 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's arrival in India in 1498.

Once Government support was obtained, Ferreira led the bid to BIE, which in 1992 declared Lisbon the winner, against the other contender Toronto, Canada. State company Parque Expo was formed to make the Fair a self-sustained event, with revenue coming from admission tickets and, especially, sales of real estate and parcel lots at the Expo's emplacement.

The first Commissioner of Expo '98 (and Parque Expo's CEO) was António Cardoso e Cunha. He was replaced in 1997 by José Torres Campos, after a general election changed the governing party. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The area chosen for the Expo '98 was a 5 km (3.5 mile)-wide strip covering 50 hectares at Lisbon's east end alongside the Tagus river. View over Tejo River from Almourol Castle in Portugal (May 2005). ...

Expo '98 was fully built from scratch. Every building was pre-sold for after-Expo repurposing thus ensuring that, after the Expo closed, the site would not be left semi-abandoned, as had happened with previous expos, namely Seville Expo '92. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

To support the expected flux of visitors, an extensive access program was devised, including:

• a new bridge across the river, the Vasco da Gama Bridge (the longest in Europe)
• a new line of the Lisbon Metro, with seven stations (five of which were ready for opening day)
• a new main multi-modal terminal, featuring trains, metro, buses, and taxis, called Gare do Oriente, architect Santiago Calatrava.

The Vasco da Gama Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Tagus River near Lisbon, Portugal. ... The Lisbon Metro is the metro (subway) system that provides Lisbon, Portugal with mass-transit services. ... Gare do Oriente is one of the main transport hubs in Lisbon, Portugal. ... Calatrava is known for his organically inspired designs, such as LUmbracle at his Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències in Valencia. ...

During

Expo '98 opened on May 22, 1998 with 141 countries and 14 international organizations featured in individual pavilions. Almost every exhibitor respected the Expo's theme "The Oceans: A Heritage for the Future". May 22 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (143rd in leap years). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

There were additional thematic pavilions dedicated to Water, Sea Knowledge, Virtual Reality (paid), Future, Oceans, and Oceanophilia; and exhibitions: "Leonardo Da Vinci@expo98 - La Dinamica dell'Acqua", "Roads of the Porcelain", and "Shells and Man". Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an immensely multi-talented Italian Renaissance Roman Catholic[1] polymath: architect, anatomist, sculptor, engineer, inventor, geometer, musician and painter. ...

Additional attractions included: a 15,000-seat Utopia Pavilion with a resident theatrical show, Camões Theater, nautical exhibition, Garcia de Orta tropical gardens, Swatch Pavilion, "World of Coca-Cola" exhibition, Expo Adrenalin, 120 m-tall observation tower (paid) , funicular (paid), and nightly water-show Acqua Matrix. Luís de Camões Monument to Luís de Camões, Lisbon Luís Vaz de Camões (pron. ... Garcia de Orta was a Renaissance Portuguese medical doctor and naturalist. ...

There were 5,000 musical and theatrical shows, both open-air and indoors, on a total of 14 fixed stages.

The Oceans Pavilion, built to be the Lisbon Oceanarium after the Expo closed, had the longest lines. Other popular pavilions, with lines of up to five hours on busier days, included Portugal (architecture by Álvaro Siza Vieira), Spain, Sweden, Germany, and Virtual Reality. The Oceanarium in the Park of Nations. ... Álvaro Siza Vieira (Álvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira, born 25 June 1933 in Matosinhos), is a contemporary Portuguese architect. ...

Total number of visitors reached 10,128,204, for a duration of 132 days. Admission prices (adult) were 5,000 escudos PTE ($34 USD at then-exhange rates) for one day, 12,500 escudos ($84) for three non-consecutive days, and 50,000 escudos ($334) for three months. The escudo was the official currency of Portugal prior to the introduction of the euro in January 1, 1999 (euro coins and notes were not introduced until 2002). ...

Logo and Mascot

"Gil", mascot of Expo '98

The Expo logo symbolizes the Sea and the Sun. It was conceived by Portuguese Augusto Tavares Dias, creative director in an advertising agency, and selected from 1,288 entries.

The Expo mascot was conceived by the Portuguese duo of painter António Modesto and sculptor Artur Moreira. It was selected from 309 entries. It is named Gil, after Portuguese navigator Gil Eanes. The name was chosen by high-school student José Luís Coelho, from 765 entries. Gil Eanes (Eannes) was a fifteenth-century Portuguese navigator and explorer. ...

After

Expo '98 closed its doors on September 30, 1998. The site remained closed until February 1999, when it reopened as "Parque das Nações" (Park of the Nations), a free-access park, keeping the gardens, Oceanarium (Europe's then largest aquarium), observation tower, funicular, and the Virtual Reality pavilion. Other buildings were repurposed for the opening, including: September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 92 days remaining. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... The Oceanarium in the Park of Nations. ...

• the main entrance, converted to Centro Vasco da Gama, a regional shopping mall (opened on April 27 1999)
• the main exhibition pavilions, converted to Feira Internacional de Lisboa (Lisbon International Exhibition Fair)
• Utopia Pavilion, converted to Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon's main multi-purpose indoor arena
• Knowdledge Pavilion, converted to Science and Knowledge Pavilion, a hands-on science museum
• another exhibition pavilion, converted to a bowling alley
• Future Pavilion, now the Casino Lisboa.

Within Parque das Nações, every other building or vacant parcel lot was sold for office or living space, to offset the Expo's costs. The King of Prussia Mall, one of the largest in the world, located in Pennsylvania, United States For the traditional meaning of the word mall, see pedestrian street or promenade. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... Pavilhão Atlântico is an arena in Lisbon, Portugal. ... Casino Lisboa Casino Lisboa (葡京娛樂場) is the largest and probably the best-known casino in Macau, Peoples Republic of China. ...

The area today is thriving, modern, stylish, and safe, attracting 18 million tourists a year to its gardens, museums, commercial areas and modern buildings. It has also become permanent residency for up to 25,000 people and one of Lisbon's premier business centers, with many multinational corporations basing their headquarters in its main avenue.

Parque Expo has lived beyond Expo '98, not just being still the manager of Parque das Nações but, having acquired the know-how in urban conversion and planning, sells its advising and consultancy services to other cities around the world.

External links

• Parque das Nações
• Expo '98 page at BIE
• Expo '98 page at ExpoMuseum