The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE; English: International Exhibitions Bureau) is an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions (also known as expos, global expos or world expos) falling under the jurisdiction of the Convention Relating to International Exhibitions.
History The BIE was established by the Convention Relating to International Exhibitions, signed in Paris on 22 November 1928, with the following goals: to oversee the calendar, the bidding, the selection and the organization of World Expositions; and to establish a regulatory framework under which Expo organizers and participants may work together under the best conditions.
The Convention stipulated that it would enter into effect one month after it was determined that at least seven countries had ratified it. This condition was met on 17 December 1930, and the first meeting of the Administrative Council of the BIE was held from 17–19 January 1931. At the meeting, it was agreed that the organization would have its headquarters in Paris."Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Convention of Paris: Bulletin 2003-2004", Bureau International des Expositions, retrieved March 16, 2026.
The BIE was inactive during World War II. It was revived with a conference held on 10 May 1948, at which a new protocol was adopted to amend the Convention Relating to International Exhibitions. Further amendments were made in 1966, 1972, 1982, and 1988.
Expo categories The BIE regulates two types of expositions: Registered Exhibitions (commonly called World Expos) and Recognized Exhibitions (commonly called Specialized Expositions). The rules for each category define the duration, the frequency, the size, and the construction attributes of each Expo.
Under the original protocol of the 1928 Paris Convention, the BIE recognised two types of Expos:
General Exhibitions (also known as World Expos), which were divided into: 1st category 2nd category Special Exhibitions (also known as Specialised Expos)
The Protocol of 30 November 1972 revised the original Convention, entering into force in 1980. Under these new rules, two types of Expos were recognised: Universal Exhibitions (also known as World Expos) Specialised Exhibitions (also known as Specialised Expos)
A new amendment was adopted in 1988 and ratified in 1996, further distinguishing the two types of Expos: International Registered Exhibitions (commonly referred to as World Expos) International Recognised Exhibitions (commonly referred to as Specialised Expos)
Expo 2008 in Zaragoza was the first Specialised Expo to be organised under these new rules, which continue to be in force to this day.
The BIE may also grant recognition to A1 Horticultural Exhibitions approved by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) since 1960, and to the Triennale di Milano since 1933.
World Expos According to the 1988 Amendment of the Convention on International Exhibitions, World Expos (formally known as International Registered Exhibitions) may occur every five years, and may last up to six months. Countries, international organizations, civil societies, and corporations are allowed to participate in World Expos. The themes of World Expos address a universal challenge facing humanity, and international participants may design and build their own pavilions. Participants may also opt to customise a pavilion provided by the Organiser or to participate within a joint pavilion, which has lower participation costs. Examples of themes of recent World Expos include "Man and His World" for Expo '67 in Montreal, and "Age of Discoveries" for Seville Expo '92, and examples of joint pavilion buildings for a Registered Exposition is the Plaza of America at Seville's Expo '92, which was constructed by the Seville Expo Authority to maximize participation at the World Expo by South American nations. The Plaza of Africa at Seville was constructed for the same purpose.
World Expos are also massive in scale, sometimes 300 or 400 hectares in size (Montreal's Expo 67 was 410 hectares, Osaka's Expo 70 was 330 hectares, Seville's Expo '92 was 215 hectares and Shanghai's Expo 2010, 528 hectares). Pavilions participating at a World Expo can also be large, sometimes 5,000 to 10,000 square metres in size, mini city blocks in themselves and sometimes more than several stories in height. (The Australia Pavilion for Shanghai 2010 was 5,000 square metres, the British Pavilion sat on a 6,000 square metres lot, as did the Canadian Pavilion. The flagship Chinese National Pavilion had 20,000 square metres of exhibition space.)
World Expos have been known to average 200,000 persons per day of visitors and some 50 to 70 million visitors during their six-month duration. Montreal's Expo 67 attracted 54 million visitors, Osaka's Expo '70, 64 million visitors, the Seville Expo '92, 41 million visitors and Shanghai's Expo 2010 attracted 70 million visitors.
As a result, transport and other infrastructure at a Registered Exposition is an important concern (Seville's World Expo of 1992 boasted cable car, monorail, boat, and bus) and the overall cost for hosting and being represented at a World Expos is quite high, compared to the smaller-scale Specialised Expos.
Specialised Expos Specialised Expos (formally known as International Recognised Exhibitions) may occur between World Expos and may have a duration of between three weeks and three months. Countries, international organizations, civil societies, and corporations are allowed to participate but the theme of the Expo must address a precise challenge, e.g. Future Energy (Expo 2017 Astana), or Living Oceans and the Coast (Expo 2012 Yeosu). The pavilions are built by the Organiser and made available to participants who may customise them. The largest pavilion may be no larger than 1,000 square meters, and the Expo site must not exceed an area of twenty-five hectares. For this reason Specialised Expos are cheaper to run than World Expos.
There are blurred lines between Specialized and World Expositions prior to the 1996 amendment of the BIE's constitution. Some Specialized Expos, such as Expo 86 in Vancouver, Expo '85 in Tsukuba, or Hemisfair '68, ran for six months and pulled in greater attendance numbers than their 'World Expo' relatives. Many of these specialized expos also had individual pavilions for their participants or covered a greater exhibition site than other World Expos of the era. According to the new amendment, there were only two World Expos between 1970 and 1992 with over 12 Specialized Expos in that same period. Most of these indeed are smaller exhibitions on a focused theme, but some, such as Expo 86 and Expo 88, were intended as full-fledged World Expos. Others, such as Expo 74, the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, or Expo '85, were specialized exhibitions that were promoted as full World Expos.
Organizational structure Decisions, such as which city will host a future exposition, are made by the General Assembly of the BIE, which meets twice per year. Each member state has one vote in the General Assembly, and a quorum of two-thirds of the member states must be present for deliberations to begin. The General Assembly elects 12 members each to the Executive Committee, which examines applications from prospective Expo hosts and oversees the progress of Expos that are under construction, and the Rules Committee, which is responsible for establishing regulations that Expos must follow and examining the rules created by each Expo for itself. The BIE's other committees, which have nine members each and are not elected by the General Assembly, are the Administration and Budget Committee, responsible for the BIE's internal budget, and the Information and Communication Committee, which develops communication strategies for the BIE and advises Expo organisers on doing the same. Day-to-day management of the BIE's activities is conducted by the Secretariat, headed by the Secretary-General, who is chosen by the General Assembly."How we Work", Bureau International des Expositions, retrieved 18 March 2026.
List of General Assembly sessions Below is a list of sessions of the General Assembly of the BIE."A Short History Of Expos", bie-paris.org, via archive.org, 12 January 2019."News", bie-paris.org, retrieved 11 April 2026 (for sessions 2012–present) The General Assembly meets twice per year, typically either at BIE headquarters in Paris, in Monaco, or (since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic) virtually via teleconferencing.