A friend texted me the other day suggesting that we bring back the World’s Fair once we’ve stamped out this little pandemic thingaroo. Seemed reasonable. Kind of fun. We’d need everyone to get into it, of course, but could be a good time.
Here’s the thing, though:
The World’s Fair never left.
Per Wikipedia, the World’s Fair still happens. It happened in Milan in 2015. It was supposed to happen in Dubai last year. They’re trying to make up the Dubai one. Osaka’s got one planned for 2025.
Anyway, I suppose we can amend our friend’s suggestion to: “Hey, let’s go to the World’s Fair and encourage others to do the same.” But maybe we should keep our eyes on it and make sure Dubai really does hit their currently intended dates. Not everyone has as many vaccines in ‘em as we do.
Nope. I’m sorry, but this just isn’t enough.
When I suggested we bring back the World’s Fair, I mean bring it back with a vengeance. 1 year, 9 locations (2 from each sub-hemisphere, and 1 wild card), and none of this “National Branding” shit. I want crazy, all out, 1893-Chicago-White-City-caliber displays. Horticulture is cool, sure, but I want something once in a generation.
Once. In. A. Generation. Something that wouldn’t be like, “Oh wait, The World’s Fair is still happening?” but more like, “Oh, the World’s Fair IS HAPPENING.”
And I want The Barking Crow to deliver it.
Send tweet.
Oh my. This is a big request. This year? Next year? Once the world’s as vaccinated as it’s gonna get?
Probably next year? Once we hit a comfort level where people can travel and gather.
Thanks for doing this!
Anything for our readers. How should we start? Pick the right cities? Or do we need to drum up some hype first and then make them apply?
I would suggest:
(1) come up with the bare-bones plan, a vision board of sorts
(2) getting some celebrities tweeting about it to generate some hype
(3) form a Worlds Fair commission
(4) form sub-committees for each sub-hemisphere to start the city selection process
We can reconnect when you’ve gotten that far.
There’s a limit on how deep a reply I can reply to (and we haven’t looked up whether we can turn it off), so replying to this one. What kinds of things would you like to see on the vision board? Would you be able to make an example for us?
Emailing you my vision board.
I have received your vision board. Await further communication, please.