at the 1905 show The show was first organized in 1902 in the
Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in
Brussels. The yearly Motor Show was interrupted between 1915 and 1919 because of
World War I. By 1937, the exhibit area in the Cinquantenaire Park became too small and the Motor Show moved to the Centenary Palace on the
Heysel/Heizel Plateau, in the north-west of Brussels, only to be cancelled from 1940 to 1948 due to the
Second World War. A third period of interruption occurred between 1957 and 1959 because of the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (
Expo 58), which occupied the whole Heysel Plateau. In 1973, a separate show for commercial vehicles was set up. In 1978 Hendrik Daems, the then-Chairman, decided to henceforth reserve even years for passenger cars and motorcycles, and odd years for commercial vehicles. This alternating focus on commercial and passenger vehicles was maintained until the 2010s, when heavy truck and bus manufacturers left the Motor Show one after another, and the focus of what was considered the lesser event changed to leisure-oriented vehicles: off-roaders, pick-ups, sports cars, cabriolets and so on. ==Editions==