Through these gatherings a highly beneficial atmosphere of mutual understanding and fellowship developed between people of different nations and often conflicting cultures. Buyers and sellers would flock to the cities of Lyons, Frankfurt and Leipzig in particular from all over medieval Europe.

The commercial transactions of long ago thus paved the way for the international exhibitions of today, which play an educational role and are instrumental in promoting understanding in the world. The first "universal and international" exhibition in the modern sense of the term took place in 1851 in London, capital of England, the world's leading industrial power, which with its vast empire had profited handsomely from free trade and the prosperity of the Victorian era. The exhibition was an overwhelming success.

These events inevitably gave rise to numerous conflicts of interest and were often characterised by very poor organisation. This state of confusion caused the participating governments  serious problems and, as a result they left the need to establish regulations to prevent the proliferation of exhibitions and provide participants with certain guarantees. As interest and experience in exhibitions grew, it became apparent that the various parties had to be brought together and their differences aired in an attempt to solve common problems. An international agreement seemed necessary. Paris had been calling for one since 1907. In 1912 the German government took the initiative and called interested governments together in order to work out the basis for an agreement.

The governments were quick to respond and they expressed the desire to establish regulations to improve relations between organisers and participants and between inviting governments and official or private exhibitors.

It was the Berlin Diplomatic Conference that established the basis for an international convention governing international exhibitions. However, the diplomatic decision that resulted could not be ratified because of the War of 1914.
The governments took up the matter again in 1920, but it was not until November 22, 1928, at another conference in Paris, that delegates of thirty-one countries signed the first convention governing, in a constructive manner, the organisation of international exhibitions. The International Convention of 1928 brought order to the world exhibitions situation by regulating their frequency and outlining the rights and obligations of the exhibitors and organisers. At the same time the International Exhibitions Bureau was created in order to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Convention.

 

 

* The World Expositions in which Lithuania has participated