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Authorizing a joint public hearing by City Council's Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and Committee on Global Opportunities and the Creative/Innovative Economy on the impact and feasibility of Philadelphia hosting major, international events, including party conventions, the Olympics and the Semiquincentennial celebration in 2026.
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WHEREAS, The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. Officially named the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine, it was held in Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill River. About 10 million visitors attended, equivalent to about 20% of the population of the United States at the time; and
WHEREAS, The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition. The fair drew about 10 million visitors. Organizers constructed an 80 foot replica of the Exposition's symbol, the Liberty Bell, covered in 26,000 light bulbs, that hung over Broad Street. Sesqui-Centennial Stadium (later known as Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, and after 1964, John F. Kennedy Stadium) was built in conjunction with the fair. In 1926 the first bridge (later renamed Benjamin Franklin Bridge) spanning the Delaware River between center city Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey, was built in anticipation of the attending crowds; and
WHEREAS, The plans for the Bicentennial began when Congress created the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission on July 4, 1966. Initially, the Bicentennial celebration was planned as a single city exposition that would be stage...
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