Franco-British Exhibition

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008)

Bird's eye view of the exhibition area

The Franco-British Exhibition (1908) was a large public fair which took place in London, United Kingdom in the early years of the 20th Century. The exhibition celebrated the Entente Cordiale which had been signed by the United Kingdom and France in 1904 and attracted 8 million visitors.

It was held in an area of West London near to Shepherd's Bush which is now called White City - the area acquired its name from the exhibition buildings which were all painted white. The Olympic Games were held in the district alongside the festivities.

Attractions

The fair was the largest exhibition of its kind in Britain, and the first international exhibition co-organised and sponsored by two countries. It covered an area of some 140 acres, including an artificial lake, surrounded by an immense network of white buildings in elaborate (often Oriental) styles.

The most popular attractions at the exhibition were the two so-called "colonial villages", an "Irish village" and a "Senegalese village", which were designed to communicate the success of imperialism. The Irish village ("Ballymaclinton") was inhabited by 150 "colleens" (Irish girls) who demonstrated various forms of domestic industry, as well as displays of manufacturing and even an art gallery. The "Senegalese village" was a so-called "native village" displaying day-to-day life, as well as various artefacts. Press reports commented on the "surprising cleanliness" of the Irish, while readers were reminded that the Senegalese were "cleaner than they looked".^[1]

Limericks were used to advertise this event:

A maiden of coy disposition,

Met her fate at the Bush Exhibition,

When his great love he told her,

Placed her head on his shoulder,

And enjoyed the happier position.

In an Anglo-French section one night,

A Youth met a Maiden, gay and bright,

But her idea of pleasure,

Was of such boundless measure,

He left with heart heavy - purse light.

The site today

The site of the exhibition is now occupied by the BBC Television Centre, built in 1960, and the Westfield Shopping Centre, which opened in late 2008. The last remaining building of the 1908 exhibition were demolished to make way for the Westfield development.

See also

• List of world's fairs

References

1. ^ "Section: White City". Madeline Holt interviewing Miranda Carter. Edited by Peter Barron.. Newsnight. BBC Two. 2008-05-14. 42 minutes in.

External links

• Science and Society Picture Library
  • Aerial view of exhibition halls at White City, 1920
  • Aerial view of White City stadium and exhibition halls, 1928

v • d • e History of London Evolution Londinium · Lundenwic · City of London · City of Westminster · Middlesex · County of London · Greater London Government Metropolitan Board of Works · London County Council · Greater London Council · Greater London Authority · London Assembly · Mayor of London Events Peasants' Revolt · Black Death · Great Plague · Great Fire · 1854 cholera outbreak · Great Stink · Great Exhibition · 1908 Franco-British Exhibition · The Battle of Cable Street · The Blitz · Festival of Britain · Great Smog of 1952 · Swinging London · London Plan · 7/7 bombings · Olympic Games (1908 · 1948 · 2012) · Paralympic Games (2012) Structures St Paul's Cathedral · Tower of London · Palace of Whitehall · Westminster Hall · London Bridge · Tower Bridge · Westminster Abbey · Big Ben · The Monument · Fortifications · Shard London Bridge City of London City of London Corporation · Lord Mayor of the City of London · Guildhall · Livery Companies · Lord Mayor's Show · Bank of England Services Bow Street Runners · Metropolitan Police Service (history) · London Ambulance Service · London Fire Brigade · Port of London Authority · London sewerage system · London Underground History of London category

This article related to the history of the United Kingdom or its predecessor states is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

This French history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e