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The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next. It was the sixth of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937.
It was held at the esplanade of Les Invalides, the Champ de Mars, the Trocadéro and at the banks of the Seine between them, with an additional section in the Bois de Vincennes, and it was visited by more than fifty million people. Many international congresses and other events were held within the framework of the exposition, including the 1900 Summer Olympics.
Many technological innovations were displayed at the Fair, including the Grande Roue de Paris ferris wheel, the Rue de l'Avenir moving sidewalk, the first ever regular passenger trolleybus line, escalators, diesel engines, electric cars, dry cell batteries, electric fire engines, talking films, the telegraphone (the first magnetic audio recorder), the galalith and the matryoshka dolls. It also brought international attention to the Art Nouveau style. Additionally, it showcased France as a major colonial power through numerous pavilions built on the hill of the Trocadéro Palace.
Major structures built for the exposition include the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais, the Pont Alexandre III, the Gare d'Orsay railroad station, and the Paris Métro Line 1 (including its entrances designed by Hector Guimard), all of which survive today (including two original canopied Métro entrances).
The 1900 Summer Olympics, in French Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad (Jeux de la IIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closing ceremonies were held.
At the Olympic Congress of 1894, which convened in the Sorbonne building, Pierre de Coubertin proposed that the Olympic Games should take place in Paris in 1900. However, the delegates to the conference were unwilling to wait six years and lobbied to hold the first games in 1896. A decision was made to hold the first Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens and have Paris host the second Games.
The Games were held as part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle (World's Fair). In total, 1,226 competitors took part in 19 different sports. This number relies on certain assumptions about which events were and were not Olympic. Many athletes, some of whom had won events, were unaware they had competed in the Olympic Games.
Women took part in the games for the first time, with sailor Hélène de Pourtalès, born Helen Barbey in New York City, becoming the first female Olympic champion. The decision to hold competitions on a Sunday brought protests from many American athletes, who traveled as representatives of their colleges and were expected to withdraw rather than compete on their religious day of rest.
Most of the winners in 1900 did not receive medals but were given cups or trophies. Professionals competed in fencing, as was tradition, and Albert Robert Ayat (France), who won the épée for amateurs and masters, was awarded a prize of 3,000 F. Some events were contested for the only time in the history of the Games, including angling, motor racing, ballooning, cricket, croquet, Basque pelota, 200m swimming obstacle race and underwater swimming. This was also the only Olympic Games in history to use live animals (pigeons) as targets during the shooting event. The host nation of France fielded 72% of all athletes (720 of the 997) and won the most gold, silver and bronze medal placings. U.S. athletes won the second-most in each while fielding the fifth-most participants, 75. British athletes won the third-most in each while fielding the second most participants, 102.
The 1900 Games were held as part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The Baron de Coubertin believed this would help public awareness of the Olympics and submitted elaborate plans to rebuild the ancient site of Olympia, complete with statues, temples, stadia, and gymnasia. The director of the Exposition Universelle, Alfred Picard, thought holding an ancient sport event at the Exposition Universelle was an absurd anachronism. After thanking de Coubertin for his plans, Picard filed them away and nothing more came of it.
A committee was formed for the organization of the Games, consisting of some of the more able sports administrators of the day, and a provisional program was drawn up. Sports to be included at the games were track and field athletics, swimming, wrestling, gymnastics, fencing, French and British boxing, river and ocean yacht racing, cycling, golf, lifesaving, archery, weightlifting, rowing, diving, and water polo.
More information: Olympics
is not winning but taking part;
the essential thing in life is not conquering
but fighting well.
Pierre de Coubertin
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