[1][2] Expo Centre Sharjah was established by an Italian American Mr. Frederick Pittera[3] in 1977 – as a first exhibition venue in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC).

Fred imported large marquis from the USA to provide for the exhibition space and a Circus tent with a seating capacity of 1200 in addition to an open air arena for various acrobatic performances.

Mr. Saeed Al Jarwan was a figurehead of Expo Centre Sharjah and the management team was headed by Fasahat Ali Khan as Deputy Director General, Mohammed Bin Dukhain as Director Sales & Marketing and Carl Muller as a senior Commercial Director.Carl Muller[4] had worked at Expo Centre as a Vice President International Sales during Fred Pittera's tenure.

It is currently the region's leading trade exhibition venue, and serves as a financial hub and a landmark for the Emirate of Sharjah and the country.

ECS has played a key role in positioning Sharjah as one of the top 10 business cities in the Gulf region and the UAE, within the global exhibitions sector.

In April 2020, in efforts to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, the ECS was converted into a field hospital, Corporate Social Responsibility with a capacity to treat up to 5,000 COVID-19 patients.