Corferias is a

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located in the city of

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

, between Quinta Paredes and El Recuerdo neighborhoods. It is a venue of local, national and international events. Although it was originally created only as a fair space it has also served as an important place for social activities including voting and it is used by companies and individuals for cultural events.

History

Corferias was founded on June 8, 1954 by decree 1772 as mixed capital investment between the Colombian Ministry of Foment and the Association of Medium and Small Companies (ACOPI). On October 29, 1954 it opened its doors with the creation of the first international exposition fair that would be later called International Fair of Bogotá. In 1955 Corferias became a

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when ACOPI sold some of its shares to the Institute of Industrial Foment (IFI). In 1971 the Association of Fairs of America was founded with the goal of regulating the fair-related activities in South America. Initially the association was conformed by the cities of Bogotá,

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, and

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. Corferias assumed the presidency of said association. From 1974 to 1988 the events were increased to seven per year. In 1989 the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá acquired the 100% of Corferias' shares and Hernando Restrepo Londono would become its new director.

Structure

As of 2010 Corferias counts with 17 exposition

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

s. It includes a roof-covered area of and of open spaces. Since 2002 a room called Gran Salon is being used. It counts with a covered space of that allows events with an audience of 6,000 people sitting and 13,000 standing up. A new pavilion is in the process of being built that will allow an even bigger audience of 10,500 people seated and 21,000 standing. It is also the city's most attended voting place during election season.

Notable events

Corferias has served as host of many cultural events throughout its history, among them they are notable:

Cultural events

*International book fair of Bogotá *Handcrafts Fair Expoartesanias. *Iberoamerican Theatre festival *Colonies fair *International Fair of Bogotá *Gastronomy fair

International events

* Campus Party *Latin American fair of entertainment *Andean Fair of Tabletop Games *International Fair of the Environment *International Art Fair of Bogotá *International Agro Expo. *

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National events

*Voting posts for the National Elections Council * Launch of the 2011 U-20 FIFA World cup

Corporate events

*Home fair *Fantasy and Leisure Salon *Salon of Fashion *Leather Show *Fair of young entrepreneurs *International fair of Health *Wines Expo *Brides Expo *International Automovil Expo

References

{{coord, 4, 37, 47, N, 74, 05, 25, W, type:landmark_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Indoor arenas in Colombia Sports venues in Bogotá Convention centers in Colombia Buildings and structures in Bogotá