EXPO ZARAGOZA 2008

Zaragoza (Spain) was elected in Paris on 16 December 2004 as the host city of the 2008 International Exposition, beating out the other candidates, Thessaloniki (Greece) and Trieste (Italy). This event will coincide with the bicentennial commemoration of the Siege of Zaragoza (1808) and the centennial celebration of the Hispano-French Exposition of 1908.

There are certain differences between the International Expositions, such as the one to be held in Zaragoza, and the Universal Expositions, which are also regulated by the B.I.E.

- Universal Expositions are held every 5 years on a site with no area limitations. They last 6 months and address a general theme. An example of this type of exposition is the Seville "Expo 92" in Spain.

- International Expositions, such as the one planned for Zaragoza in 2008, are held over 3 months on a site of no more than 25 hectares. They address a specific theme, which in this case, is "Water and Sustainable Development".

Many countries have signed up

This year has also been extremely important in the efforts of the Expo Commissioner and all of his team. Those responsible for convincing countries that Zaragoza is a good opportunity for their promotion have achieved optimum results and 70 countries have now confirmed their presence in the capital of Aragon on 14th June 2008. The latest countries to sign up was the Ukraine on 22nd December and Syria and Camerun have been the first two countries in 2007.

Syria has increased to 15 the Asian countries participation while Camerun rised the number of African countries to 12. From its side, the American continent it's represented by 25 countries and Europe by 18 till now.

The first international exposition took place in London in 1851. Since its success, numerous expositions have been held all over the world, including the Paris Exposition of 1889, which gave birth to the Eiffel Tower. As these events increased in number, a clear need arose to control their frequency. Thus, the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) was created in 1928.