The first World's Fair ever to be held in the Orient was in Manila in 1953. Costing $2,000,000, it was designed as a shopfront to focus attention on the progress made by the Philippines since Independence in 1947.

The international Fair was to emphasise the position of Manila as the "Gateway to Asia" and of the Philippines as the "Pearl of the Orient". During the 1945 liberation from Japanese domination, the city of Manila was levelled to the ground leaving vast areas of destruction. The International Fair stands on one of these areas, with over 170 seperate exhibits advertising the economic potential of the Philippines.

Ten foreign countries (including the USA, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Sweden) also exhibited promoting their own products. Since its opening on 1st February 1953, more than a million people visited.