The Brussels World Exposition 1958
10 Years of Preparation

Year: 1958 City: Brussels Country: Belgium Duration: 17th April - 19 October 1958

1   2  Copyright: Le Memorial officiel de l'Exposition universelle et internationale de Bruxelles 1958-1962, Bd. 1, S.

As early as 7 May 1948 the Belgian government adopted a proposal put forward by the Mayor of Brussels, Paul-Henri Spaak, to make the Belgiam capital the site of the next world exposition. Three years later in November 1951 former Minister, Baron Moens de Fernig, was named Commissioner General of the Exposition. The Ministry of Economics took on responsibility for organising the exposition. In early 1952 the Belgian government passed a law which regulated the financing of the exposition project. In addition to authorising extraordinary credits and the creation of a colonial lottery this allowed funds to be withdrawn from the public purse.

On 20 July 1952 the date of the exposition was fixed for 1958. Following official registration of the exposition in November 1953 with the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) the "Company of the Universal and International Exposition Brussels 1958" was constituted in March 1954. Charles Everarts de Velp was elected General Secretary. Baron von Fernig issued invitations to the embassies of those foreign countries with representatives in Belgium and to international organisations. Only a short time later, on 24 September 1954, the foundation stone laying ceremony for the World Exposition took place in Heyselpark. A decree was issued by the Commissioner General on 29.7.1957 specifying the classifications of the exposition, which had nine sections, fifty-two groups and twenty-nine classes.