1982 World's Fair

EXPO Knoxville 1982
The 1982 World's Fair logo
Overview
BIE-class	Specialized exposition
Category	International specialized exposition
Name	Knoxville International Energy Exposition
Motto	Energy turns the world
Building	Sunsphere
Area	28 hectares (69 acres)
Visitors	11,127,786
Participant(s)
Countries	16
Location
Country	United States
City	Knoxville
Venue	World's Fair Park
Coordinates	35°57′43″N 83°55′28″W / 35.962064°N 83.924389°W / 35.962064; -83.924389
Timeline
Opening	May 1, 1982 (1982-05-01)
Closure	October 31, 1982 (1982-10-31)
Specialized expositions
Previous	Expo 81 in Plovdiv
Next	1984 Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans
Universal expositions
Previous	Expo '70 in Osaka
Next	Seville Expo '92 in Seville
Horticultural expositions
Previous	Floralies de Montréal in Montreal
Next	Internationale Gartenbauaustellung 83 in Munich
Simultaneous
Horticultural (AIPH)	Florida 1982

The 1982 World's Fair, formally known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition, was held in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. The theme of the exposition was "Energy Turns the World."

It opened on May 1, 1982, and closed on October 31, 1982 after receiving over 11 million visitors. Participating nations included Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, and West Germany.

The fair was constructed on a 70-acre (280,000 m²) site between downtown Knoxville and the University of Tennessee. The core of the site primarily consisted of a deteriorating Louisville and Nashville Railroad yard and depot. The railroad yard was demolished, with the exception of a single rail line, and the depot was renovated into a restaurant. The Sunsphere, a 266-foot (81 m) steel tower topped with a five-story gold globe, was built for the 1982 World's Fair. It still stands and remains a symbol for the city of Knoxville.

In 2007, the East Tennessee Historical Society opened an exhibit commemorating the 25th anniversary of the World's Fair.

Genesis

The idea for a World's Fair in Knoxville came from the example of Spokane, Washington, which hosted a World's Fair in 1974. W. Stewart Evans, president of the Downtown Knoxville Association, came up with the idea of hosting a fair in Knoxville and presented it to the city government.^[1]

Knoxville Mayor Kyle Testerman appointed banker Jake Butcher to lead an exploratory committee on the fair, and Butcher served as the driving force behind the fair. Within the city, many people referred to the event as "Jake's Fair".^[1] The organizing body was the Knoxville Foundation Inc.^[2] There was skepticism about the ability of Knoxville, described as a "scruffy little city" by a national publication, to successfully host a World's Fair.^[3]

This was the second World's Fair to be held in Tennessee. The state's first endeavor was the Tennessee Centennial Exposition of 1897, held in Nashville.

Opening day

On May 1, 1982, the 1982 World's Fair opened with the theme "Energy Turns the World". Television commercials broadcast prior to the fair used the marketing tagline "You've Got To Be There".^[4] The opening ceremony was broadcast on local and regional TV, with President Ronald Reagan arriving to open the fair.^[1] TV personality Dinah Shore was the master of ceremonies, and artists such as Porter Wagoner and Ricky Skaggs performed as the gates opened.^[5] A six-month pass to the fair sold for $100.^[4]

The fair

The fair drew over 11 million visitors, making it one of the most popular world's fairs in US history, and even turned a small profit ($57), but short of the projected $5 million surplus.^[2] Knoxville itself was left with a $46 million debt.^[2]

Participating nations included Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, and West Germany.^[6] Panama never occupied its pavilion space, which was eventually occupied by a group of Caribbean Island nations.

The Peruvian exhibit featured a mummy that was unwrapped and studied at the fair. The Egyptian exhibit featured ancient artifacts valued at over thirty million dollars.^[7] Hungary, the home country of the Rubik's Cube, sent a large, automated Rubik's Cube with rotating squares for the entrance to its pavilion. The cube is still present in downtown Knoxville, where it has been displayed in the lobby of the Holiday Inn World's Fair Park.^[8][9] Every night of the fair, at 10 pm, a 10-minute fireworks display was presented that could be seen over much of Knoxville.

A TV station, KM2XKA on Channel 7, was built for the fair, initially specializing in World's Fair information. It later converted to DTV-only WMAK, an independent station.

Difficulties with the fair

Local hotels and other accommodations were not allowed to take reservations directly. Room reservations for everything from hotels to houseboats sold in a package with fair admission tickets through the first 11 days of the fair, handled by a central bureau, Knoxvisit. However, financial and administrative troubles pushed reservations to be taken over by PLM,^[10] which itself filed for bankruptcy^[11] and was mired in its own difficulties.^[12]

After Jake Butcher's United American Bank failed the year after the fair (on February 14, 1983, when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took over the bank due to irregularities in financial records), there was speculation that the failure was due in part to his financing of the World's Fair.^[13]

After the fair

In 1991, the city of Knoxville demolished the US Pavilion in a controlled blast. This was due to structural failure that could not be safely resolved. The cleared site became a parking lot along Cumberland Avenue.^[14] It is now site of the Knoxville Convention Center. The former site of the Korean and Saudi Arabian pavilions and the Tennessee Gas Industries exhibit became host to a regular concert series for eight years. The site of the Japanese Pavilion became the new location for the Knoxville Museum of Art. The Elm Tree Theater next door was converted to part of a courtyard of the Museum. The Elm Tree was later killed by lightning and what remains is now an empty courtyard. Many of the other locations of Pavilions to the south park reverted to the University of Tennessee.

In 1996, Knoxville and the World's Fair figured prominently in an episode of The Simpsons. In the episode, Bart and his friends travel to visit the fair, only to be disappointed to learn of its closure over a decade previously.

In 2000, the park was closed for two years while a convention center was added in the space formerly occupied by Rich's/Millers Garage, the KUB Substation and the former site of America's Electric Energy Exhibit.

In 2002, the World's Fair Park was reopened to general events and concerts, such as Earth Fest and Greek Fest. A July 4 celebration is held there every year with the Knoxville Symphony playing a free concert with a massive fireworks display. The July 4, 2007 celebration was held in conjunction with festivities commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the 1982 World's Fair.

The following day, July 5, 2007, The Sunsphere's observation deck reopened to the public.

Arcade tokens

Seven video arcade game tokens were minted for the 1982 World's Fair, each depicting a different game. These tokens were given out at the arcade at the World's Fair itself. The seven games on each of the tokens are Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Qix, Gorf, Scramble, and Donkey Kong.^[15] A special Coca-Cola pin was given to 500 dignitaries on opening day.

New inventions

The Knoxville World's Fair debuted several new inventions, including touch screen display screens, Tetra Pak boxed shelf-stable milk, and the Cherry Coke flavor by Coca-Cola.^[16] The fast food chain Petro's Chili & Chips also debuted there.^[17]

See also

• List of world's fairs
• National Conservation Exposition

References

External links

• 1982 World's Fair Research Site, by Bruce Schulman
• 1982 World's Fair 25th Anniversary site (archived)
• ExpoMuseum's 1982 World's Fair Section

List of world expositions Retrospectively recognized expositions London 1851 Paris 1855 London 1862 Paris 1867 Vienna 1873 Philadelphia 1876 Paris 1878 Melbourne 1880 Barcelona 1888 Paris 1889 Chicago 1893 Brussels 1897 Paris 1900 St. Louis 1904 Liège 1905 Milan 1906 Brussels 1910 Turin 1911 Ghent 1913 San Francisco 1915 Barcelona & Seville 1929 Chicago 1933 BIE recognized Universal Expositions Brussels 1935 Paris 1937 New York 1939 Port-au-Prince 1949 Brussels 1958 Seattle 1962 Montreal 1967 Osaka 1970 Seville 1992 Hannover 2000 Shanghai 2010 Milan 2015 Dubai 2020 BIE recognized Specialized Expositions Stockholm 1936 Helsinki 1938 Liège 1939 París 1947 Stockholm 1949 Lyon 1949 Lille 1951 Jerusalem 1953 Rome 1953 Naples 1954 Turín 1955 Helsingborg 1955 Beit Dagan 1956 Berlín 1957 Turín 1961 Munich 1965 San Antonio 1968 Budapest 1971 Spokane 1974 Okinawa 1975 Plovdiv 1981 Knoxville 1982 New Orleans 1984 Plovdiv 1985 Tsukuba 1985 Vancouver 1986 Brisbane 1988 Plovdiv 1991 Genoa 1992 Taejŏn 1993 Lisbon 1998 Aichi 2005 Zaragoza 2008 Yeosu 2012 Astana 2017 BIE recognized horticultural exhibitions (AIPH) Floriade 1960 Hamburg 1963 Vienna 1964 Paris 1969 Amsterdam 1972 Hamburg 1973 Vienna 1974 Montreal 1980 Amsterdam 1982 Munich 1983 Liverpool 1984 Osaka 1990 Zoetermeer 1992 Stuttgart 1993 Kunming 1999 Haarlemmermeer 2002 Rostock 2003 Chiang Mai 2006/7 Venlo 2012 Antalya 2016 Berlin 2017 Beijing 2019 Almere 2022 Canceled Rome 1942 Chicago 1992 Vienna & Budapest 1995 Metro Manila 2002 Seine Saint Denis 2004 Not BIE recognized Asia Nanyang 1910 Hangzhou 1929 Nagoya 1937 Urumqi 1992–present Dubai 1995–present Shenyang 2006 Oceania Melbourne 1866 Sydney 1870 Melbourne 1875 Brisbane 1876 Sydney 1879 Dunedin 1889 Christchurch 1906 Auckland 1913–14 Dunedin 1925 Wellington 1939–40 Europe London 1756 Dublin 1853 Manchester 1857 Porto 1865 London 1871–74 Vienna 1873 Amsterdam 1883 Liverpool 1886 London 1886 Copenhagen 1888 Glasgow 1888 Frankfurt 1891 Prague 1891 Lyon 1894 Oporto 1894 Berlin 1896 Glasgow 1901 Cork 1902 Hanoi 1902 London 1905 London 1906 Marseille 1906 Dublin 1907 London 1908 Zaragoza 1908 London 1910 Dresden 1911 London 1911 London 1912 Lyon 1914 Cologne 1914 London 1914 Kristiania 1914 Malmö 1914 Semarang 1914 London 1921 Marseille 1922 British Empire Exhibition (1924–25) Antwerp 1930 Stockholm 1930 Paris 1931 Porto 1934 Glasgow 1938 North America New York City 1826–1897 Bryant Park, New York City 1853 Atlanta 1881 Louisville 1883–87 New Orleans 1884 Atlanta 1887 San Francisco 1894 Atlanta 1895 Nashville 1897 Omaha 1898 Buffalo 1901 Charleston 1901–02 Portland, Oregon 1905 Jamestown 1907 Seattle 1909 Knoxville 1913 San Diego 1915–17 Bronx 1918 Philadelphia 1926 San Diego 1935–36 Dallas 1936 Cleveland 1936–37 Dallas 1937 San Francisco 1939–40 New York City 1964–65 South America Buenos Aires 1910 Rio de Janeiro 1922