One of the most intriguing facts about the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair is that it wasn't really an official World's Fair!

Bureau of International Expositions makes the rules

The Paris based Bureau of International Expositions (B.I.E.) sanctions World's Fairs. Unlike Olympic Games, World's Fairs are not held at regular intervals. The B.I.E.'s purpose is to prevent too many Fairs from being held too close together and to settle disputes between venues wishing to host expositions.

Like the International Olympic Committee member nations of the B.I.E. appoint representatives to the organization. It is virtually certain that a B.I.E. member nation would have a presence at a B.I.E. approved Fair.

The B.I.E. has two categories for World's Fairs:

• Second Category Expositions center around a specific thematic idea such as "Tomorrow's Fresh New Environment" or "Energy Turns the World." Spokane's Expo '74 and Knoxville's 1982 World's Fair were such expositions. They are generally smaller Fairs where the host builds the pavilions for the exhibitors.
• Universal and International Expositions center around a broader theme such as expo67's "Man and His World" or "Progress and Harmony for Mankind" as at Expo '70. These are large Fairs where countries design and build their own pavilions.

In addition to categorizing World's Fairs the B.I.E. sets forth rules that govern their operation. Among them:

• A World's Fair may operate for no more than six months.
• Exhibitors may not be charged rental fees for exhibiting.
• A Universal and International Exposition may be held only once within a ten year span.

When the New York Fair was being planned, the United States was not a party to the organization. However New York, seeking the "official nod" from the B.I.E., applied to host the Universal and International Exposition of 1964/1965.

At the time of New York's application the B.I.E. had already granted Canada permission to host the Universal and International Exposition of 1967 in Montreal (expo67) following the collapse of earlier plans by the Soviet Union to host a 1967 World's Fair in Moscow. Preliminary plans were also underway for the Universal and International Exposition of 1970 to be held in Osaka, Japan (Expo '70). New York was actually third in line for approval and their Fair would end only two years prior to an already approved Universal and International Exposition.

Robert Moses breaks the rules

Robert Moses, President of the corporation that ran the Fair, was determined not to repeat the mistakes his predecessor had made in operating the 1939/1940 World's Fair.

To Moses, former Parks Commissioner for New York and the city's "master builder," Flushing Meadow Park was the great urban park he'd always dreamed of for New York. The park had been constructed from a former ash dump in the 1930s to host the 1939/1940 New York World's Fair. That Fair ended its two year run in the red and there had never been enough money available to finish the park to his liking. He envisioned the 1964/1965 Fair, to be held on Flushing Meadow park land, as the vehicle to provide the infrastructure improvements and monies to complete the park. Moses would make his Fair a success and it would make a profit.

In order to accomplish his goals Moses had determined that the Fair must operate for two seasons. Additionally he would charge exhibitors rental fees for the site they would occupy at the Fair. These plans were a direct violation of B.I.E. rules. That and the fact that a Universal Exposition was already sanctioned within the ten-year-span limit put the B.I.E. and the New York World's Fair Corporation, in the formidable form of Robert Moses, in direct conflict.

EXHIBIT AREAS RENT SCHEDULE INDUSTRIAL  $4.00 per square foot per year INTERNATIONAL  $3.00 per square foot per year FEDERAL AND STATES   TRANSPORTATION $4.00 per square foot per year AMUSEMENT   SPECIAL EXHIBITS $4.00 per square foot per year (Special exhibits not listed above are under consideration) IT IS TO BE NOTED THAT THE CHARGES AND THE CONDITIONS RELATING TO THE VARIOUS AREAS LOOK TO PRUDENT, CONSERVATIVE FINANCING OF FACILITIES CHARGEABLE TO THE FAIR SO AS TO ASSURE THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF EXHIBITION CONSISTENT WITH PAYING ALL FAIR COSTS AND HAVING A BALANCE AT LEAST SUFFICIENT TO RESTORE AND COMPLETE FLUSHING MEADOW PARK. FROM TIME TO TIME WHEN DEFINITE COMMITMENTS AS TO SPACE HAVE BEEN MADE AND LEASES SIGNED, THE FAIR MANAGEMENT WILL ANNOUNCE THEM. IT SHOULD BE NOTED, HOWEVER, THAT THE MANAGEMENT DOES NOT VOLUNTEER RECOMMENDATIONS AND HAS NO PREFERRED LIST OF ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, BUILDERS OR OTHER FIRMS AVAILABLE AND INTERESTED IN CONSTRUCTION WITHIN THE FAIR GROUNDS. THIS IS A MATTER ENTIRELY FOR THE EXHIBITORS.   DOWN PAYMENT 50% OF YEAR'S RENT ON SIGNING CONTRACT. ADDITIONAL 50% OF YEAR'S RENT BEFORE START OF CONSTRUCTION. SOURCE: Pre-Fair Planning Report, dated August 15, 1960

The consequences

Perhaps the B.I.E. would have been able to come to a compromise with New York had not Mr. Moses decided to make an issue of their differences. His insulting comments to the press regarding the B.I.E. and their rules so angered B.I.E. officials that they not only took the action of denying New York official permission to host the Fair in 1964; they specifically requested their member nations not to participate in the New York World's Fair!

This created a rather awkward situation back in New York. How can it be a World's Fair if the world can't come? As a result of the B.I.E. decision the list of International participants contains some noticeable absences with Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Germany and Australia among those choosing not to exhibit. To be sure, in the end, there were many International participants. However most were hosted by industrial or tourist interests in lieu of official government sponsorship.

Robert Moses and his Fair promoters were masters in securing private sponsorship of pavilions and thus saved the Fair from oblivion. And the fabulous exhibits sponsored by America's industrial giants provided the basis for an exciting exposition. But the heavy influence of national and international commercial interest at the fair helped to foster charges of "crass commercialism" -- the most frequent criticism leveled at the '64 Fair.

The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair has become, over the years, a cultural icon of a by-gone era and a landmark event for millions of people. However the Fair will always have the dubious honor of being the only World's Fair in modern times that was not sanctioned by the B.I.E. -- making it the only World's Fair that wasn't really a World's Fair!