Expo Tel Aviv

Expo Tel Aviv occupies a large exhibition site on Rokach Boulevard in northern Tel Aviv.[1] A 2011 account placed the grounds between Rokach Boulevard, the Ayalon Highway, and the Maoz Aviv neighborhood, describing a site of approximately 350 dunams containing exhibition pavilions and office space.[1] The Israel Trade Fair and Convention Center also appears on a Tel Aviv visitor route crossing the Yarkon River, alongside the Eretz Israel Museum, the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, and Hayarkon Park.[8]

The venue combines trade exhibitions with conventions and large public events.[2] Figures published in 2019 described an annual attendance of more than 2.5 million people and between 45 and 60 events across 10 halls and two pavilions.[2] Its modern grounds are distinct from the historic Levant Fair complex near Tel Aviv Port, although the two sites are linked through the history of the fairgrounds and their relocation.[2][9]

Exhibitions and fairs were held in Tel Aviv by 1923, while a separate account dates the city’s commercial fairs to 1924.[3][10] These commercial exhibitions showcased the industrial and economic activity of the Yishuv in Mandatory Palestine, promoted export markets for agricultural and industrial products, and presented achievements in education, social welfare, and the arts.[10] Four smaller fairs preceded the 1932 Levant Fair; the Palestine and Near East Exhibition of April 8, 1929, was the fourth and coincided with the twentieth anniversary of Tel Aviv’s founding.[10] At that exhibition, mayor Meir Dizengoff declared: “Tel Aviv is showing what the Jews in Palestine have achieved in the fields of industry, agriculture and education during such a short period.”[10]

The first international Levant Fair opened on April 7, 1932, with exhibitors from 24 countries.[3] Also described as the fifth Near East Fair, it attracted 285,000 visitors and listed 831 foreign firms among its exhibitors.[2] Pavilions represented Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Great Britain, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Turkey, and the USSR, and the closing date was extended by popular demand.[2] Architect Arieh Elhanani designed the fair’s Flying Camel emblem to express a connection between East and West.[3] Elhanani had immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1922 and began his career designing trade fairs.[11]

The success of the 1932 exhibition led to the development of a permanent fairground in the Yarkon peninsula area, north of the city.[3] Ground was broken in 1933 near what would become Tel Aviv Port, replacing the temporary structures used for the earlier fair.[2] Elhanani oversaw the design, while architect Richard Kauffmann planned pavilions around public squares and open spaces.[2] The buildings reflected the International Style and the work of architects trained in Europe, including at the Bauhaus.[2]

The permanent complex opened in 1934 at a ceremony attended by High Commissioner Arthur Wauchope and Dizengoff.[3] That year’s fair attracted 600,000 visitors, included pavilions representing 36 foreign governments, and listed 2,200 exhibiting firms, of which 1,500 were foreign.[2] It was described as the world’s fourth-largest fair at the time and presented the Yishuv’s industrial, agricultural, commercial, technological, scientific, and artistic development to an international audience.[2]

The 1936 Levant Fair took place amid the Arab Revolt and an Arab general strike that disrupted the movement of exhibition merchandise through Jaffa.[2][9] The High Commissioner formally opened the fair at the end of April; 16 countries had official displays, 11 had permanent pavilions, and six additional national pavilions were established that year.[12] A separate agricultural exhibition was organized by the Government Department of Agriculture.[12] Attendance reached 320,000, but disturbances seriously affected visitor numbers, particularly arrivals from abroad.[12] Foreign exhibitors faced delayed deliveries, numerous participants withdrew, and scheduled events were canceled; the fair closed at the end of May after a financial failure, without another date being scheduled.[2]

The closure of the Jaffa roadstead by striking port workers and lightermen also prompted changes in the handling of goods.[12] The Palestine Government permitted a Tel Aviv jetty and bonded warehouses at the Levant Fair grounds, while a commercial council raised £P70,000 in voluntary subscriptions for the project.[12] The undertaking was subsequently taken over by the Palestine Marine Trust Limited.[12]

Although the fairs ceased, the buildings remained in use.[2] The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra gave its first concert in one of them in December 1936, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.[2] During the Second World War, the British Army requisitioned the area as a base; during the War of Independence, the buildings served as IDF warehouses.[2]

After Israel’s establishment, the exhibition grounds moved east to their present location, on land previously used for agriculture by residents of Sheikh Muwannis before the War of Independence.[13] The exhibition company was based at the current grounds from 1958, and the new venue opened in 1959 as the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center.[1][2] The Flying Camel statue moved across the Yarkon to the Rokach Boulevard site, which Elhanani also planned.[2] Fairs resumed there in 1959.[3] The venue later became known as the Tel Aviv Convention Center and was renamed Expo Tel Aviv International Convention Center in 2018.[2]

Expo Tel Aviv has continued the fairgrounds’ role as a venue for trade shows, professional gatherings, and public entertainment.[2] A 2019 description gave Pavilion 1 an exhibition area of 20,000 square meters and described Pavilion 2 as a new congress and convention center with approximately 10,000 seats.[2] In May 2020, the venue was described as Israel’s largest conferencing and exhibition facility, with 20,000 square meters of exhibition space.[5]

Medical conferences are among its professional uses.[4] An event listing identified Expo, also called Ganei HaTa’arucha, as the scheduled venue for the 69th annual conference of the Israel Cardiology Association, organized jointly with the Israeli Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery, on May 25–26, 2022.[4] The announced program included speakers from Israel and abroad, parallel sessions, industry-sponsored satellite sessions, and an exhibition of pharmaceutical companies and medical-equipment firms presenting cardiac-care technologies.[4]

During the COVID-19 shutdown, the venue’s facilities were used for examinations, allowing organizers to place examinees’ tables farther apart.[5] On November 7, 2023, an area described as a converted parking lot at Expo Tel Aviv was operating as a hub for supplies and donations collected from Israelis for evacuees.[6]

Survivors of the Hamas terrorist attack at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, organized an exhibition at the venue to tell the story of the attack.[7] The installation reconstructed elements of the festival grounds, including the tent, bars, camping area, and stages, and displayed toilets marked by bullet holes and belongings recovered from the site.[7] Survivor and organizer Tal Shimony recalled a table of personal possessions, including objects festivalgoers had used to entertain one another, which she called the “fun table.”[7] Connecting dance with recovery, she said: “For me, dancing means healing. Dancing means therapy. Dancing means being connected to myself.”[7]

Pavilion 2 was inaugurated in January 2015 as a major addition to the exhibition grounds.[13] A phased redevelopment plan reported in 2011 had identified it as the first stage of a broader transformation of the site.[1] The planned building totaled 50,000 square meters, including 20,000 square meters of underground parking and 30,000 square meters of halls, with a projected full capacity of approximately 11,000 people.[1] The completed pavilion likewise had a reported built area of 50,000 square meters, rose 26 meters high, and contained a 7,000-square-meter column-free main hall.[13]

The building includes a large lobby and café, upstairs conference rooms, basement event rooms, and a rooftop intended for outdoor events.[13] Two acoustic walls and two electronically dimmable glass walls enclose the main hall; the glass can darken the space in 30 seconds.[13] Two levels of underground parking connect to other underground parking on the grounds, while supporting infrastructure includes loading and unloading areas, kitchens, and an energy center.[13]

Construction cost approximately NIS 350 million.[14] About 4,000 guests attended the opening celebration, for which a roller coaster was installed inside the hall to demonstrate the building’s engineering capacity.[13] The roof was also described as capable of bearing the weight of a truck.[13]

The historic port-side fairground, distinct from today’s Expo complex, included the Palace of Made in Palestine, originally called the Palestine Pavilion.[9] David Ben-Gurion, Chaim Weizmann, and Wauchope attended its cornerstone ceremony in 1933, and Kauffmann’s building opened in 1934 as the fair’s principal exhibition hall.[9] His plan for the old fair complex included 30 permanent and 43 temporary buildings.[9] The Palace measured approximately 3,400 square meters, was roughly 80 meters long, and could accommodate more than 6,000 chairs.[9] Around 200 locally owned companies displayed their products there at its opening exhibition.[9]

Pavilion 2 was selected to host the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest after Tel Aviv was announced as the host city in 2018.[15] The venue said the pavilion could hold up to 9,000 people, depending on the size of the stage.[15] The two semifinals and final took place on May 14, 16, and 18, 2019, in shows co-produced by the European Broadcasting Union and Israel’s public broadcaster, KAN.[16] Advance plans listed 42 participating countries, with 36 scheduled for the semifinals and Israel and the EBU’s five largest financial contributors qualifying directly for the final.[16]

Pavilion 2 housed the competition shows, while Pavilion 1 accommodated a 650-square-meter Green Room for delegations.[17] A temporary tunnel connected the two locations.[17] Approximately NIS 8 million was invested in public spaces and system upgrades, with 1,600 employees working on the stage and facilities.[17] The event occupied parts of an area described at the time as 60 dunams, or 14 acres.[18]

Construction of the Eurovision stage took 54 days after a three-day delay to the start of work.[19] The stage incorporated moving parts, revolving doors, and LED screens 17 meters high; the main production team included production head Tobias Åberg and director Yuval Cohen.[19] A full house of 7,300 people watched 26 acts in the final at Expo Tel Aviv, while approximately 70,000 additional fans watched at the Eurovision Village elsewhere in the city.[20]