text: 1965 season More than 150,000 people attended the reopening of the fair on April 21, 1965. Ethiopian long-distance runners Abebe Bikila and Mamo Wolde participated in a ceremonial half marathon, running from Central Park in Manhattan to Singer Bowl at the fairground. Unlike the 1964 opening ceremony, no protests occurred at the fair's reopening, and almost all exhibits were completed on time. For the 1965 season, adult admission fees were raised to $2.50 (). During the first 20 days of the 1965 season, attendance declined 22 percent compared with the same time period in 1964, putting many exhibitors at risk of bankruptcy. In addition, fewer visitors were paying at the gates, as more than half of visitors carried advance tickets. Exhibitors requested that admission fees be reduced and that a reduced-price evening admission ticket be sold. Moses refused both proposals, and several exhibitors threatened to close their pavilions before reneging.
  At the beginning of the 1965 season, there were issues such as race-related protests, Vietnam War protests, a controversy over a racially insensitive song in one pavilion, and disputes between Jewish and Arab exhibitors. Vandalism also increased due to the reduced police presence, and a fairgoer was murdered that May. WFC officials also tried to invalidate their January 1964 agreement for disbursing the fair's profits, and exhibitors continued to lose money due to lower-than-expected attendance. Fewer visitors came during the evening, but the WFC again rejected a proposal for discounted evening admission in July 1965. Despite increased attendance in mid-1965, the fair continued to record decreased revenue compared with 1964. Many exhibitors recorded substantial losses from the costs of their pavilions. By August 1965, the WFC was preparing to clear the fairground after the fair, though 13 exhibitors had declared bankruptcy and could not afford to demolish or move their pavilions.