Exposition Universelle (1889)
The Exposition Universelle of 1889 opened its gates on the 6th of May in Paris, France. This massive event was designed to mark one hundred years since the Storming of the Bastille. That violent uprising began the French Revolution and toppled the monarchy. The government needed a grand celebration to unify the nation after decades of political instability. They also sought to pull the country out of a deep economic recession. The state aimed to stimulate industry and trade through this global gathering. Over thirty-two million people walked across the Champs de Mars during the six months of operation. Sixty-one thousand seven hundred twenty-two official exhibitors set up their stalls. Twenty-five thousand of those exhibitors came from outside the borders of France. The total cost for organizing the fair reached forty-one million five hundred thousand francs. Income from ticket sales and concessions totaled forty-nine million five hundred thousand francs. This profit margin made it the last Paris world's fair to generate surplus funds.
Thirty-five nations officially sent representatives to the Paris fair. Countries like Argentina, Japan, and the United States displayed their goods side by side. The British dominions of New Zealand and Tasmania joined the list of participants. However, nearly all European monarchies refused to attend the ceremony. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Russia, and Sweden issued formal boycotts. These governments opposed the event because it celebrated the overthrow of their own royal families. Despite these official bans, citizens and private companies from boycotting nations still participated. Private sponsors funded entire pavilions for countries including China, Denmark, Egypt, and Peru. Many individuals from the United Kingdom and its colonies attended without government backing. The diplomatic landscape remained tense even as crowds flocked to the gates. The contrast between state refusal and public interest highlighted the complex political climate of 1889.
A competition announced in 1886 called for a tower three hundred meters tall with a one hundred meter base. Gustave Eiffel won the contract with his construction firm. His team had already designed such a structure starting in 1844. Two engineers named Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier created the structural design. An architect named Stephen Sauvestre added the curving form and decorative elements that defined the look. Five hundred workers assembled eighteen thousand iron pieces at a factory in Levallois-Perret. Each piece measured five meters and bore a careful number for assembly. The project took two years, two months, and five days to complete. No other person was allowed above the second viewing platform during the fair except construction staff. Twenty-nine thousand nine hundred twenty-two people climbed the narrow winding stairs in the first week alone. By the end of the event after one hundred seventy-three days, nearly two million visitors ascended the tower. The elevators were not yet operational when the doors first opened to the public. The city owned the land beneath the tower so it could remain standing forever. In 1909, the French military decided to preserve the structure permanently.
A separate site on the esplanade of Les Invalides hosted pavilions for French colonies. This section featured outdoor restaurants serving foods from Indochina and North Africa. A large village called a village nègre displayed four hundred indigenous people for visitors to observe. Samba Lawbé Thiam, a jeweler from Senegal who worked there, expressed deep humiliation about the display. He stated that straw and mud huts did not represent his homeland. He noted that Senegal had large buildings and railroads powered by electricity. The Bureau of Hygiene would never allow such huts to be built in modern times. These human exhibitions were intended as educational elements but functioned as exploitative displays. Many colonized individuals felt uncomfortable while their daily lives were put on view. The colonial section linked to the main Champs de Mars site via a corridor of pavilions. This arrangement reinforced the power dynamics between the colonizers and the colonized populations.
Thomas Edison visited the exposition on the 14th of August 1889 to see his improved phonograph. Otis Elevator Company developed safety elevators for the legs of the Eiffel Tower. Technicians filled one elevator with three thousand kilograms of lead to simulate passengers. They then cut the cable with an axe while journalists watched from below. The safety brakes halted the fall ten feet above the ground. Prefabricated metal housing appeared at the fair with galvanised steel roofs and wooden interiors. Gustave Eiffel designed these structures for rapid assembly in French colonies like Indochina. Some of these old booths now serve as shelters for hikers in the Forest of Dampierre. The Galerie des Machines covered seventy-seven thousand square meters with thirty-four thousand seven hundred square meters of glass windows. It held the longest interior space in the world at that time. The building cost seven million four hundred thirty thousand francs. A separate palace displayed developments in military technology such as naval artillery.
Claude Debussy first heard Javanese gamelan music performed by an ensemble from Java during this event. This experience influenced some of his later compositions significantly. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov conducted concerts of Russian music by the Mighty Five in Paris. The Barnum and Bailey Circus performed inside the Salle des Fetes of the Palais des Machines. Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West Show entertained crowds outside the main gates. Annie Oakley demonstrated her sharpshooting skills to amazed audiences. The Opéra Comique premiered on the 14th of May 1889 with Jules Massenet's Esclarmonde. Sybil Sanderson debuted as an American soprano in that production. A Rue de Caire recreated Cairo street life with real Egyptians in costume. Musicians, belly dancers, artists, and vendors sold various foods along the winding path. The exhibition included a model Aztec temple in the Mexican pavilion. These cultural exchanges created a unique atmosphere of global encounter within the city limits.
Most buildings were demolished shortly after the fair closed because they stood on military land. The Eiffel Tower remained standing because it was built on city-owned ground. The Schœlcher Library survived and was shipped to Fort-de-France in Martinique. Pierre-Henri Picq designed this elaborate iron and glass structure decorated with ceramic tiles. It contained ten thousand books donated by Victor Schœlcher when completed in 1893. Today the library houses over two hundred fifty thousand books and an ethnographic museum. The total receipts reached forty-nine million five hundred thousand francs against expenses of forty-one million five hundred thousand francs. Over thirty-two million visitors attended the event between May and October. Sixty-one thousand seven hundred twenty-two exhibitors participated from around the globe. Thirty-five countries sent official delegations to the Parisian grounds. The legacy of the fair lives on through these surviving structures and historical records.
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Common questions
When did the Exposition Universelle of 1889 open its gates in Paris France?
The Exposition Universelle of 1889 opened its gates on the 6th of May in Paris France. This massive event was designed to mark one hundred years since the Storming of the Bastille.
How many people visited the Exposition Universelle of 1889 during its operation?
Over thirty-two million people walked across the Champs de Mars during the six months of operation. The fair generated a profit margin that made it the last Paris world's fair to generate surplus funds.
Which countries boycotted the Exposition Universelle of 1889 and why?
Germany Austria-Hungary Belgium Spain Italy Portugal Russia and Sweden issued formal boycotts against the event. These governments opposed the celebration because it marked the overthrow of their own royal families.
Who designed the Eiffel Tower for the Exposition Universelle of 1889?
Gustave Eiffel won the contract with his construction firm to build the tower three hundred meters tall. Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier created the structural design while Stephen Sauvestre added the curving form and decorative elements.
What controversial human exhibitions occurred at the Exposition Universelle of 1889?
A large village called a village nègre displayed four hundred indigenous people for visitors to observe on the esplanade of Les Invalides. Samba Lawbé Thiam expressed deep humiliation about the display noting that straw and mud huts did not represent his homeland Senegal.