This is the list of 63 world expositions, which were acknowledged as world expositions.
1851 | London | England |
1853 | Dublin | Ireland |
1853/54 | New York | USA |
1855 | Paris | France |
1862 | London | England |
1865 | Dublin | Ireland |
1867 | Paris | France |
1871 | London | England |
1872 | London | England |
1873 | Vienna | Austria |
1873 | London | England |
1874 | London | England |
1876 | Philadelphia | USA |
1878 | Paris | France |
1879/80 | Sidney | Australia |
1880/81 | Melbourne | Australia |
1883 | Amsterdam | Netherlands |
1884/85 | New Orleans | USA |
1885 | Antwerp | Belgium |
1888 | Brussels | Belgium |
1888 | Glasgow | Scotland |
1888/89 | Melbourne | Australia |
1888 | Barcelona | Spain |
1889 | Paris | France |
1893 | Chicago | USA |
1894 | Antwerp | Belgium |
1894 | San Francisco | USA |
1897 | Brussels | Belgium |
1900 | Paris | France |
1901 | Glasgow | Scotland |
1904 | St. Louis | USA |
1905 | Liege | Belgium |
1906 | Milano | Italy |
1910 | Brussels | Belgium |
1911 | Turin | Italy |
1913 | Ghent | Belgium |
1915 | San Francisco | USA |
1926 | Philadelphia | USA |
1929 | Barcelona | Spain |
1930 | Antwerp | Belgium |
1933/34 | Chicago | USA |
1935 | Brussels | Belgium |
1937 | Paris | France |
1939/40 | New York | USA |
1939/40 | San Francisco | USA |
1958 | Brussels | Belgium |
1962 | Seattle | USA |
1964/65 | New York | USA |
1967 | Montreal | Canada |
1968 | San Antonio | USA |
1970 | Osaka | Japan |
1974 | Spokane | USA |
1975 | Okinawa | Japan |
1982 | Knoxville | USA |
1984 | New Orleans | USA |
1985 | Tsukuba | Japan |
1986 | Vancouver | Canada |
1988 | Brisbane | Australia |
1992 | Sevilla | Spain |
1998 | Lisboa | Portugal |
2000 | Hanover | Germany |
2005 | Seto | Japan |
2010 | Shanghai | China |
Since 1928 exists an institution, which decides, whether an event can be called a "world exposition". Similar as the olympic games (but not with such a regular cycle) countries and towns applies for organizing such an event.
Here it is the Paris resident Bureau des Expositions, which convokes a committee of representatives of the member states for this decisions.
The former free decision of states and towns to call an exposition a world exposition can be noticed for example in the years 1888 and 1889, when world expositions were held in 5 different states and towns.