Who invented trade shows?
While there is some debate about who held the first trade show, it appears the first one, The Great Exhibition, happened in London in 1851, specifically in Hyde Park. Business owners and merchants exhibited surgical instruments, medical equipment, and microscopes at this trade show, among other fare.
Not only did Queen Victoria attend this trade show, but more than six million people also attended in its first five months.
On the other hand, some argue that some of the first trade shows emerged as bazaars in the Middle East in 3000 BC. It was during this time that the early caravan trade routes appeared.