The Brussels International Exposition of 1935 (Exposition Universelle et Internationale Bruxelles) was held in Heysel Park, Brussels, Belgium from April 27 through November 6, 1935.
Sanctioned by the Bureau of International Expositions, twenty-five countries officially participated, and another five unofficially represented. The theme was colonization, on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Congo Free State.
The fair attracted some twenty million visitors. Belgian architect Joseph Van Neck was the principal architect of the fair and of the Art Deco Palais de Expositions (Grand Palais), with its interior concrete parabolic arches, and its four heroic bronze statues on piers.
Among many other contributors, Le Corbusier designed part of the French exhibit, and the Belgian modernist architect Victor Bourgeois designed the Grand Palace, the Leopold II Restaurant and the Soprocol Pavilion. The Belgian art exposition prominently displayed the work of Belgian artists Paul Delvaux and René Magritte, boosting their careers.
The Palais de Expositions and at least three other of the 1935 structures were re-used for Expo '58.
| Preceded by simultaneously Exposition internationale coloniale, maritime et d'art flamand (1930) and Exposition of 1930 (Liège) |
World's Fairs held in Belgium 1935 |
Succeeded by Exposition internationale de l'eau (1939) in Liège |