Before
The idea to organize a World's Fair in Portugal originated in 1989 between two Portuguese, António Taurino Mega Ferreira and Vasco Graça Moura, who were in charge of organizing the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's arrival in India in 1498.
Once Government support was obtained, Ferreira led the bid at the Bureau of International Expositions, which in 1992 declared Lisbon the winner, against the other contender Toronto, Canada. State company Parque Expo was formed to make the Fair a self-sustaining event, with revenue coming from admission tickets and, especially, sales of real estate and parcel lots at the Expo's emplacement.
The first Commissioner of Expo '98 (and Parque Expo's CEO) was António Cardoso e Cunha. He was replaced in 1997 by José de Melo Torres Campos, after a general election resulted in a change in government.
The area chosen for the Expo '98 was a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi)-wide strip that covered 50 hectares (0.19 sq mi) in Lisbon's east-end alongside the Tagus river.
Expo '98 was fully built from scratch. Every building was pre-sold for after-Expo repurposing thus ensuring that, after the Expo closed, the site would not be left semi-abandoned, as had happened with previous expos, particularly Seville Expo '92.
To support the expected influx of visitors, an extensive access program was devised, including:
- a new bridge across the river, the Vasco da Gama Bridge (then the longest in Europe)
- a new line along the Lisbon Metro, with seven stations (five of which were ready for opening day)
- a new main multi-modal terminal, featuring trains, metro, buses, and taxis, called Gare do Oriente, by architect Santiago Calatrava.
Read more about this topic: Expo '98