‘It aims at being a great object-lesson of Empire and its meaning’ The Bristol International Exhibition Daily Programme, 1914

Bristol International Exhibition opened in May 1914 promising to be ‘a place of pleasure and delight’, celebrating ‘the resourcefulness and progress of Great Britain and her Dominions’.

At Ashton Gate, 32 acres were transformed with palaces and pavilions, a funfair and gardens. It even had its own railway station.

The ambitious scheme went bankrupt within two weeks of opening. It struggled on until the declaration of war in August.