Expo Tel Aviv (formerly the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center () and later the Tel Aviv Convention Center (), commonly referred to as Ganei HaTaarucha (, ''lit.'' "Exhibition Gardens") or the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds, is a fairground complex on Rokach Boulevard in northern

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

used as a venue for concerts, exhibitions,

trade fair A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific Industry (economics), industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest Product (business), products and se ...

s and conferences. Established in 1932 as Yerid HaMizrach at the site of the

Levant Fair The Levant Fair (Hebrew: יריד המזרח; Yarid HaMizrach) was an international trade fair held in Tel Aviv during the 1920s and 1930s. History Early years One of the early precursors to the Levant Fair, an exhibition titled the "Exhibiti ...

, near the

Tel Aviv Port The Tel Aviv Port (; ) is a commercial and entertainment district in northwest Tel Aviv, Israel along the Mediterranean Sea. History In 1933, the Levant Fair was opened next to the waterfront area that would soon become the Tel Aviv Port. Act ...

, the fairgrounds moved to their present location at 101 Rokach Boulevard (near the

Yarkon Park Yarkon Park (, ''Park HaYarkon'') is a park in Tel Aviv, Israel, with about sixteen million visits annually. Named after the Yarkon River, which flows through it, the park includes extensive lawns, sports facilities, botanical gardens, an aviar ...

and

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

) in 1959. The site is directly accessible from the

Ayalon Highway Ayalon (, ‘place of deer’) is an Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west ...

, Tel Aviv's main transportation artery, as well as from the Tel Aviv University railway station. Expo Tel Aviv hosts up to 2.5 million visitors and between 45 and 60 major events annually. The fairground has ten halls and pavilions and a large outdoor space including an amusement park known as the Luna Park. Nearby is the

Drive in Arena The Drive in Arena (), officially named Shlomo Group Arena () is a multi-purpose hall in the northern part of Tel Aviv. Built on the grounds of what was once Israel's only drive-in theater and opened in November 2014, it is used primarily as the ...

which was built on the grounds of what was once Israel's only

drive-in theater A drive-in theater/theatre or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, c ...

. The venue was renamed to Expo Tel Aviv ahead of hosting the

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

. It also hosted the 2022 Tel Aviv Open, the first major tennis tournament held in Israel since 1996.

History

The

was an international fair site next to the

established in 1933 to showcase the accomplishments of the pre-state Jewish community in the sphere of industry. After the success of the first fair, permanent structures were built on a plot of land at the northern end of Dizengoff street on the banks of the

Yarkon River The Yarkon River, also Yarqon River or Jarkon River (, ''Nahal HaYarkon''; , ''Nahr al-Auja''), is a river in central Israel. The source of the Yarkon ("Greenish" in Hebrew) is at Tel Afek (Antipatris), north of Petah Tikva. It flows west throu ...

. Fairs were held in 1934 and 1936 with pavilions and halls constructed for the participating countries. The chief architect was

Aryeh Elhanani Arieh El-Hanani () born SapozhnikovArie El Hanani
Israel Museum we ...

. A flying camel became the official logo.

Richard Kauffmann Richard Kauffmann (1887–1958) was a German-Jewish architect who migrated to Israel (region), Palestine in 1920. His architecture was influenced by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a proponent of the International Style, and was applied to the local l ...

planned the pavilion layout. Other leading architects were

Arieh Sharon Arieh Sharon (; May 28, 1900 – July 24, 1984) was an Israeli architect and winner of the Israel Prize for Architecture in 1962. Sharon was a critical contributor to the early architecture in Israel and the leader of the first master plan of the ...

and Joseph Neufeld. The pavilions were designed in the

International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

. In 1959, the fairgrounds were moved to their present location on Rokach Boulevard, and the new site was inaugurated with an exhibition marking Tel Aviv's 50th Jubilee. In 1983, the convention center opened within the fairgrounds and at the end of 2003 the "Pavilion No. 1" was opened. It has 20,000 m² of exhibition space and is the largest object of its kind in Israel and in the

Eastern Mediterranean The Eastern Mediterranean is a loosely delimited region comprising the easternmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and well as the adjoining land—often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It includes the southern half of Turkey ...

. In 2010, the "round pavilion" in the fairground was demolished. In its place began the construction of a new 10,000-seat congress and convention center called "Bitan 2" (Pavilion 2), which was inaugurated in January 2015. The new pavilion hosted the

2018 European Judo Championships The 2018 European Judo Championships were held in Tel Aviv, Israel from 26 to 28 April 2018. Medal overview Men Women Medal table Participating nations There was a total of 368 participants from 44 nations. References Exte ...

from 26 to 28 April.

Entertainment

In recent years, the center has been used for many musical concerts and shows. On 13 September 2018, the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

(EBU) and the

Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation is the national broadcaster of Israel. It carries the blanket branding Kan in Hebrew () and Makan in Arabic (). Its news division, Kan News, is the third biggest brand in Israeli newscasting, after Ha ...

(IPBC/Kan) announced that the center would host the

. The semi-finals were held on 14 and 16 May 2019, with the final taking place on 18 May 2019. Kan expected Pavilion 2 to have room for up to 9,000 attendees.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Tel Aviv Tourist attractions in Tel Aviv Convention centers in Israel Sports venues in Tel Aviv

History

Entertainment

See also

References

External links