The first visitors to Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai arrived on the 155-hectare (383-acre) site on Yumeshima Island on the morning of April 13 following a ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony. The opening of the World Expo marks the beginning of six months of global exchange and dialogue centered around the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.”
Japan’s third World Expo – and the second to be hosted in Osaka after Expo 1970 – was formally inaugurated on April 12 during a ceremony attended by Japan’s Imperial Family. The ceremony saw the raising of the flags of Japan and the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), a procession of international participants, and an array of music and dance performances.
A total of 159 countries, including Japan, and seven international organizations are participating in Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, with each participant represented by a pavilion crafted to present its unique interpretation of the Expo theme. In addition to the pavilions of International Participants, the Expo features domestic pavilions and eight Signature Pavilions created by eminent producers, each focusing on different themes relating to life.
During the opening ceremony, Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, the Secretary General of the BIE indicated: “In this beautiful venue, this place of peace and discovery, each nation is invited to shape a future society marked by creativity, partnership, and inclusivity. Over the next six months, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai will serve as a hub for innovation and collaboration, where ideas that empower lives, protect lives and connect lives become a reality.”
The Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba, indicated: “I look forward to the Expo serving as a catalyst for achieving ‘unity in diversity.’ I strongly believe that interactions amongst visitors from around the world and Japan, inside and outside the symbolic Grand Ring, will be of vital importance towards this goal.”
The Expo site has been conceived as a People’s Living Lab, a venue for demonstrating cutting-edge technologies and presenting the results of co-creation projects that have been in development since Japan was elected host country of the Expo by BIE Member States in 2018. As a Future Society Showcase, the Expo incorporates inclusivity and sustainability while offering a futuristic and immersive experience for visitors in line with the three subthemes: Saving Lives, Connecting Lives and Empowering Lives.
During its six-month run, the Expo will be marked by public events, theme-related activities and National Day celebrations. An opening day concert by Japanese pop start Ado is kicking off the Expo’s cultural calendar, gathering around 10,000 spectators in the Expo Arena. In addition to the vibrant cultural program, the Expo will be host to seminars, business meetings and community events, and will see in-depth discussions during the eight Theme Weeks aimed at addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
