1. The History
Seville has now hosted the Expo twice in its history. The first time was in 1929 when Plaza de Espana was built as the Pabellon de Andalucia. Sixty-three years later the Universal Exposition of Seville (Expo '92) took place in 1992 between April 20th and October 12th, on La Isla de La Cartuja. Subtitled "The Age of Discovery", over 100 countries participated on the 215-hectare site which saw over 41,000 visitors over a five-and-a-half-month period. Organized to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus (1492-1992), the expo was initially to be a jointly held event with Chicago, but the US city dropped out due to financial issues.
The Expo was ground-breaking in many ways. ‘Pavilions’ were at the heart of the Expo and included the ‘Royal Pavilion’ and five thematic pavilions; Navigation, Discovery, Nature, Environment, and the Fifteenth Century. To offset the costs of developing nations a special monumental structure, the 'Plaza de Americas', was constructed, consisting of a large enclosed Plaza-type building, to allow maximum participation from developing states from African. The hot summer temperatures were eased using a microfilter water air conditioning system which was used throughout the site, along the main avenues and streets. Visitors were sprayed with cool mist in various locations, and could make use of the numerous fountains and wading pools to cool off.
After the Expo, many of the Pavilions were dismantled, and today the site is divided between a research and development park called Cartuja 93 and a theme park called Isla Mágica, the 'Magic Island', which also hosts the popular Pavilion of Spain. However, many the buildings are still to find new uses and lie in a state of semi-abandonment or moth-balling.
2. The Explore
Had this on the list as soon as I’d booked the flights to Seville. It’s a massive site and you could quite easily spend a whole day searching things out. Think I managed to cover the lion’s share of the site but on reflection now, there were some bits I missed. Overall, an interesting and relaxed ‘explore’.
3. The Pictures
The first thing you see it the massive detailed copy of the Ariane rocket:
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Next to it is the massive “Auditorium”. This was secure, but I did climb a bank and get under the fencing. However once under the fence it was clear wild dogs close-by, so I bottled it.
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An old map:
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…and the symbol of Expo92 on an iron manhole cover:
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The next point of interest was the old Monorail Terminus which is in a pretty sorry state:
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Walkways outside the Auditorium:
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The elongated “Energy” pavilion. I couldn’t get near this as there was a lot of building work going on here:
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Part 2 here....
Seville has now hosted the Expo twice in its history. The first time was in 1929 when Plaza de Espana was built as the Pabellon de Andalucia. Sixty-three years later the Universal Exposition of Seville (Expo '92) took place in 1992 between April 20th and October 12th, on La Isla de La Cartuja. Subtitled "The Age of Discovery", over 100 countries participated on the 215-hectare site which saw over 41,000 visitors over a five-and-a-half-month period. Organized to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus (1492-1992), the expo was initially to be a jointly held event with Chicago, but the US city dropped out due to financial issues.
The Expo was ground-breaking in many ways. ‘Pavilions’ were at the heart of the Expo and included the ‘Royal Pavilion’ and five thematic pavilions; Navigation, Discovery, Nature, Environment, and the Fifteenth Century. To offset the costs of developing nations a special monumental structure, the 'Plaza de Americas', was constructed, consisting of a large enclosed Plaza-type building, to allow maximum participation from developing states from African. The hot summer temperatures were eased using a microfilter water air conditioning system which was used throughout the site, along the main avenues and streets. Visitors were sprayed with cool mist in various locations, and could make use of the numerous fountains and wading pools to cool off.
After the Expo, many of the Pavilions were dismantled, and today the site is divided between a research and development park called Cartuja 93 and a theme park called Isla Mágica, the 'Magic Island', which also hosts the popular Pavilion of Spain. However, many the buildings are still to find new uses and lie in a state of semi-abandonment or moth-balling.
2. The Explore
Had this on the list as soon as I’d booked the flights to Seville. It’s a massive site and you could quite easily spend a whole day searching things out. Think I managed to cover the lion’s share of the site but on reflection now, there were some bits I missed. Overall, an interesting and relaxed ‘explore’.
3. The Pictures
The first thing you see it the massive detailed copy of the Ariane rocket:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Next to it is the massive “Auditorium”. This was secure, but I did climb a bank and get under the fencing. However once under the fence it was clear wild dogs close-by, so I bottled it.
5.
6.
7.
An old map:
8.
…and the symbol of Expo92 on an iron manhole cover:
9.
The next point of interest was the old Monorail Terminus which is in a pretty sorry state:
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Walkways outside the Auditorium:
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
The elongated “Energy” pavilion. I couldn’t get near this as there was a lot of building work going on here:
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
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Part 2 here....
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