Exposition internationale du bicentenaire de Port-au-Prince
The Exposition internationale du bicentenaire de Port-au-Prince was a world's fair held in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1949 to mark the 200th anniversary of the city's founding.
1949 Port-au-Prince
Universal exposition
Second category General Exposition
L'Exposition Internationale de port au Prince 1949
200 years Port au Prince
30 hectares (74 acres)
Dumarsais Estimé
Haiti
October 12, 1948
December 5, 1948
December 1, 1949
June 8, 1950
Creation[edit]
President Dumarsais Estimé argued in 1948 for an exposition to demonstrate Haitian culture to other countries and encourage tourism and committed $1 million (then almost three-quarters of Haiti's annual budget) to the project.[1]
The fair opened on ground at the Gonave Bay which had been cleared of houses and landscaped with gardens, parks and tall coconut and palm trees[1]
Opening[edit]
There were two opening ceremonies: the first on December 8, 1949 and the second on February 12, 1950.[2]
During the first ceremony, a telegram from US president Harry S. Truman to Haitian president Dumarsais Estimé was read out, a parade of US soldiers and marines and a US Air Force squadron flew overhead, and the national exhibits and amusement area opened.
During the second ceremony, the international as well as the official pavilions were opened. Displays were on show from Argentina, Cuba, France, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico and Venezuela,[2] with Vatican City providing a chapel.
Art and music[edit]
An art competition was held, with Gesner Abelard winning a bronze prize, and Jacques-Enguerrand Gourgue a gold.[3]
Marian Anderson,
Alberto Beltran,
Frantz Casseus,
Celia Cruz,
Miles Davis,
Issa El Saeih,
Dizzy Gillespie,
Ernst Lamy,
Ti Ro Ro,
La Scala singers,
members of the Grand National Opera New York,
Daniel Santos,[4]
Don Shirley[5]
and Bebo Valdes[4]
all performed during the exposition.
The following countries were invited to and participated in the exhibition:
Legacy[edit]
Following the close of the exposition many of the pavilions were used for Haitian Governmental Buildings. The Pavilion of Haiti was converted into the Legislative Assembly Building. The Post Pavilion became a post office. The Guatemala Pavilion became the home of the Haiti Red Cross, and the Vatican Pavilion became a church. The devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake laid waste to many buildings in Haiti including most of these exposition buildings including the Legislative Building, Red Cross, and Post Office.