On April 21, 1962, the Seattle World’s Fair, also known as the Century 21 Exposition, opened to the public. Plans for the Seattle World’s fair began in 1955. At that time, organizers hoped to hold their fair in 1959, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. However, they wouldn’t have enough time to get everything ready by then so the plan had to change. At the time, America was involved in the Space Race with the Soviet Union. And Boeing had a profound effect on Seattle, making it “an aerospace city.” So the new plan for the fair was to show that America wasn’t behind the Soviets in the Space Race. Previous talks of an American West-themed fair were dropped, and the new themes were space, science, and the future. American representatives personally visited Moscow to invite the Soviets to participate in the fair, but they refused. None of the Baltic States were invited, nor were China, Vietnam, or North Korea.