In 1900 the Borough Polytechnic Institute entered into the Exposition Universelle. The Exposition was a world fair held in Paris from 15 April until 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the 19th Century and to accelerate development into the next.The minutes of the Polytechnic's Education Committee for 25th January 1900 (pg210) state; 'English Education Exhibit. A fair number of specimens had been sent to the Imperial Institute and it was expected that many of these specimens will be sent to Paris.' The 'Imperial Institute' was the South Kensington Museum which would later become the Victoria and Albert Museum. The 'specimens' from the Institute won a medal at the Exposition in Paris, which was later sent by the Royal Commission to the Polytechnic accompanied by an envelope, box, letter and advertising material.
Medal inscription, 'Republique Francaise, Exposition Universelle Internationale 1900, Borough Road Polytechnic, Bronze'
More than 50 million people attended the Paris Exposition (a world record at the time); it included more than 76,000 exhibitors and covered 1.12 square kilometres of Paris.
A number of Paris' most noted structures were built for the Exposition, including the Gare de Lyon, the Gare d'Orsay (now the Musée d'Orsay), the Pont Alexandre III, the Grand Palais, La Ruche, and the Petit Palais. The first line of the Paris Metro also began operation to coincide with the Exposition. Part of the Exposition was the Second Olympic Games, which were spread over five months. 'Talkies' (films with speech) and escalators were publicized, as was Campbell's Soup, which was awarded a gold medal (an image of which still appears on its label).
