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    Vancouver's Expo '86
    Vancouver's Expo '86
    Vancouver's Expo '86
    Ebook180 pages39 minutes

    Vancouver's Expo '86

    By Bill Cotter

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    About this ebook

    To mark the 100th anniversary of the city's founding and the arrival of the first trans-Canada train, Vancouver's political and business leaders invited the whole world to participate in the festivities.
    The result was Expo '86, and more than 22 million people came for the party. It took eight years of planning and hard work to transform a former railroad yard into a colourful showplace full of pavilions and shows for the six-month event, but those lucky enough to have been there would agree that it was worth it. Expo '86, truly a world's fair,
    included pavilions from 9 provinces and territories, 54 nations and international groups, and 3 American states. Many of Canada's largest industries joined in, as well, to celebrate the fair's theme, "A World
    in Movement, A World in Touch." Vintage photographs recapture the fun and excitement of the largest event held to that time in British Columbia.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateNov 30, 2009
    ISBN9781439642597
    Vancouver's Expo '86
    Author

    Bill Cotter

    Bill Cotter is the author of the novels Fever Chart, The Parallel Apartments, and The Splendid Ticket. He is also responsible for the middle-grade adventure series Saint Philomene’s Infirmary, published by Henry Holt. His short fiction has appeared in The Paris Review, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. An essay, “The Gentleman’s Library,” was awarded a Pushcart Prize in 2013. When he is not writing, Cotter labors in the antiquarian book trade. He lives in Austin with his wife, the retired opera singer Krissy Olson.

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      Book preview

      Vancouver's Expo '86 - Bill Cotter

      collection.

      INTRODUCTION

      Between May 2 and October 13, 1986, more than 22 million visitors enjoyed the sights and sounds of Expo ’86, which was held in Vancouver. The largest event in the city until that time, Expo ’86 was a massive undertaking that required the cooperation of city, provincial, national, and international governments, as well as some of the largest companies in Canada. As might be imagined, putting all of this together to create Expo ’86 was a monumental task that took many years—and a great deal of money.

      While many people contributed to the birth and design of the project, it is generally acknowledged that the genesis for what became Expo ’86 was a meeting of several politicians in late 1978. Tourism Minister Grace McCarthy had been looking for ways to celebrate Vancouver’s upcoming centennial in 1986, and she had considered ideas as unusual as borrowing the Mona Lisa for a summer exhibition. One brainstorming session was with Patrick Reid, the minister of Canada House in London, who led the organization that charters world’s fairs. Laurie Wallace, the Agent General of British Columbia to Britain, asked Reid why Vancouver had never been selected as the host city for such an event. The answer was simple, Reid said: Because it never asked.

      With that, the idea to host a world’s fair in 1986 was born. A working team was formed to tackle the myriad problems that had to be overcome. Its first task was to find a theme for the fair, and to somehow connect that to Vancouver. The result was a fair to be built around transportation, which would tie in with the 100th anniversary of the first transcontinental train’s arrival in Vancouver. Dubbed Transpo ’86, the fair was slated to be held on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds in Hasting Park.

      However, when the Bureau International des Expositions approved the fair, it was with the understanding that the fair would be expanded in scope and moved to a different site along False Creek. Reid and others had felt that a strictly transportation-oriented fair would not have broad enough appeal, so the fair’s new theme became World in Motion, World in Touch. A little-used plot of land was secured, and work began in earnest on the design and construction of what was by then called Expo ’86.

      One early challenge the builders had to face was that none of them, with the exception of Reid, had any experience with world’s fairs. Recognizing that he needed a strong leader to get the fair built on time, British Columbia Premier Bill Bennett asked Jim Pattison, a successful Vancouver businessman, to sign on as the chairman and president of the newly formed Expo ’86 Corporation. Pattison agreed, taking a nominal salary of $1 a year for his efforts. With Reid named as the fair’s ambassador and commissioner general, the corporation set out to secure funding and participants.

      The site along False Creek caused problems from the start, for the major landowner, the Canadian Pacific Railroad, did not immediately agree to the sale. It took a great deal of political wrangling to get that and many other deals signed. The layout of the site was a challenge in itself, for the fair would be one long stretch of land with several constricting points that could have led to severe congestion. The designers made numerous trips to other fairs and theme parks to study crowd-control techniques, and their resulting design very effectively masked the limitations of the site.

      While Expo ’86 was being designed and built there were two very prominent world’s fair failures in the United States. Both the 1982 Knoxville and 1984 New Orleans fairs had failed to deliver the promised crowds and revenue, making many observers skeptical that Vancouver would be any different. Pattison brought his business background to bear, realizing that building the fair was one thing, but to be successful, it had to be marketed effectively. A wide-ranging advertising campaign was launched, with advertisements that were carefully crafted for the target audiences.

      Most importantly, though, Pattison realized he needed to broaden the fair’s scope beyond just the Vancouver area. He used his company plane to travel across the province, held informational sessions in small towns, and asked them to participate in Expo ’86. This meant more than just coming as guests, for he invited them to come to Vancouver and volunteer at the fair. The program was a huge success, bringing almost as many volunteers onboard as paid staff. The result was a feeling of connection to the expo that made it a must see destination for millions across the province and for their families across Canada.

      Expo ’86 was a major success, drawing in crowds that were 50 percent higher than predicted. The event, which ran up a sizeable deficit of $349 million, had never been intended to turn a profit. Instead, it acted as a catalyst for future civic growth. Sadly, this was the last world’s fair to be held in North America to date. However, anyone who was there is likely to agree it was a spectacular way to celebrate Vancouver’s 100th birthday.

      —Bill Cotter

      www.worldsfairphotos.com

      May 2009

      One

      THE CREATION

      OF EXPO ’86

      Expo ’86 will display the latest in transportation and communications technology on its 70-hectare site in the heart of downtown Vancouver.

      —November 1985 press release

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