Empire Exhibition, Scotland

The Empire Exhibition was an international Exhibition held at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, Scotland, from May to December 1938.

The Exhibition offered a chance to showcase and boost the economy of Scotland and celebrate Empire trade and developments, recovering from the depression of the 1930s. It also marked fifty years since Glasgow's first great exhibition, the International Exhibition (1888) held at Kelvingrove Park. It was the second British Empire Exhibition, the first held at Wembley Park, London, in 1924 and 1925. Its function was similar to the first National Exhibition in Paris in 1798 and to the first International Exhibition, the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, attended by 6 million visitors. It was declared open by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on 3 May 1938 at the Opening Ceremony in Ibrox Stadium, attended by 146,000 people. In addition to the Royal Patrons and the Honorary Presidents representing governments and institutions here and in the Dominions, the Exhibition President was the Earl of Elgin, President of the Scottish Development Council, and initiators of the exhibition.