National Pavilions

“A quick analysis of the foreign countries with official pavilions at Expo ‘74 indicates what most of them have in common: these are the countries we can count on in World War III. Spending up to twenty dollars a square foot to display one’s urban blight in Spokane is obviously the penultimate act of loyalty to the United States.” - Calvin Trillin, “Thoughts of a Fair-Trotter.” The New Yorker, August 5, 1974.

In addition to the United States as the host nation, nine other countries officially participated in Expo ‘74: Australia, Canada, Germany, Iran, Japan, Korea, The Philippines, Taiwan, and the USSR. (Technically, Canada’s participation was actually the participation of two Canadian provinces; however, since essentially all Expo ‘74 materials treat Canada as a national participant, I will cover the Canadian displays here.)

Several nations in attendance at Expo were relatively young: the Republic of the Philippines had gained its independence from the United States in 1946, while the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) were formed in 1948 and 1949 respectively. The Republic of China had relocated to Taiwan in 1949 and lost its U.N. recognition in 1971.

Several of these nations also have undergone significant political changes since 1974. The Imperial State of Iran would be replaced by the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) re-unified with the Democratic Republic of Germany (East Germany) in 1990, and the United Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) dissolved in 1991.

Many nations that participated in Expo ‘74 would later host their own World’s Fairs or specialized Expos. These include Japan (Okinawa, 1975; Tsukuba, 1985; Aichi, 2005; Osaka, 2025), Australia (Brisbane, 1988), the United States (New Orleans, 1984; Knoxville, 1988; New Orleans, 1984), Germany (Hanover, 2000), South Korea (Daejeon, 1993; Yeosu, 2012), and Canada (Vancouver, 1986).

Note that some Expo ‘74 materials also portray Mexico as a national participant. For more information on Mexico’s presence at the fair, please see the post on Plaza Mexicana.