Franco-British Exhibition (1908)

The Franco - British Exhibition was a major international fair, which was held in White City, London from May 14 to October 31, 1908. The aim was to consolidate the four years earlier agreed Entente Cordiale between the United Kingdom and France.

The exhibition attracted over eight million visitors and was the largest that had taken place up to that point in the UK. She was also the first international two countries jointly organized and financed fair. In parallel, the IV Summer Olympics were held, the newly built White City Stadium was in the eastern part of the 56 -acre exhibition site.

A total of 175 buildings were arranged in a certain symmetry; against a British building was mostly its French counterpart. Present were also gardens, parks, an artificial lake with a waterfall and music pavilions.

The exhibition center was easily accessible by public transport. Immediately adjacent to the fairgrounds led past several railway, metro and tram lines. Both on the track of the Metropolitan Railway and on the route of the Central London Railway new stations were built, both named Wood Lane (see Wood Lane (Central Line) and Wood Lane (Metropolitan Line) ).

The exhibition presented the British and French achievements in the fields of industry, art, science, horticulture, education and leisure.

A focus was on two so-called human zoos with people from the respective colonies. The main attraction there were two so-called " colonial villages ," an " Irish " and a " Senegalese village", which should demonstrate the success of colonization. The Irish Village ( " Ballymaclinton " ) lived 150 " Colleen " ( Irish girls) were devoted to the various forms of national handicrafts, both technical and the artistic production. The " Senegalese village" was a so-called " native village " in the daily life as well as various artistic products were shown. The press picked up the "surprising cleanliness " of the Irish produce, and the reader learned that the Senegalese " were cleaner than they looked ."

Shortly after the end of the exhibition, the buildings were demolished, created roads and the area built over by housing estates. The longest is held the White City Stadium, but in 1985 a new building of the BBC had to give way.

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