November 9th, 2026

Long before Olympics dominated the world's attention, international expositions were the great stage for showing off industrial progress. London's 1851 Great Exhibition, housed in the glass-and-iron Crystal Palace, set the template that Paris, Vienna, and others soon followed. Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition introduced the Ferris wheel to the world, while Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exhibition celebrated a century of American independence. Barcelona's 1888 Universal Exposition helped transform the city and spurred the urban ambitions that would later give rise to Gaudí's landmarks.