The first national exhibition was held in Zurich in 1883. Others were held in Geneva in 1896, in Bern in 1914, in Zurich in 1939, in Lausanne in 1964 and in 2002 in the Three-Lakes Region in Biel-Bienne, Murten-Morat, Neuchâtel and Yverdon-les-Bains.

The brief descriptions of the earlier national exhibitions, the chronology of Expo.01/02 and the initial project of Expo.01 show how it all began.