Expo 2025

Expo 2025 was a big international fair held in Osaka, Japan. It was organized by the Bureau International des Expositions and opened on April 13, 2025, lasting six months until October 13, 2025. This event was very important because it brought people from all over the world to share ideas and celebrate new discoveries.

Osaka had hosted a World Expo before in 1970, making this the second time the city welcomed such a grand event. The fair returned to its usual schedule every five years after the 2020 Expo in Dubai was moved to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many people visited Expo 2025—almost 29 million in total. It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to learn, explore, and enjoy together.

Bidding, selection and ratification of Expo city

Ratification

Japan sent its plans for the Expo to the BIE for review. The plans included when it would open and close, and ideas for what would happen after the Expo ended.

Candidates

On 22 November 2016, France told the BIE that it wanted to host the World Expo in 2025. This started the process of choosing where the Expo would be held. Other countries had until 22 May 2017 to say they wanted to host the Expo too.

Baku, Azerbaijan – The capital city of Azerbaijan said it wanted to host the Expo with the idea of "Developing Human Capital, Building a Better Future".
Osaka, Japan – Osaka said it wanted to host the Expo on 24 April 2017 with the idea of "Designing Future Society for Our Lives".
Yekaterinburg, Russia – The Russian city said it wanted to host the Expo on 22 May 2017 with the idea of "Changing the World: Innovations and Better Life for Future Generations".

Withdrawn candidates

Paris, France – France was the first to say it wanted to host the Expo with the idea of "Sharing our Knowledge, Caring for our Planet." But France stopped its plans on 21 January 2018 because of money worries and because it had successfully bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Results

A secret vote happened at BIE's 164th General Assembly on 23 November 2018 to choose the winner. In the first vote, Osaka got 85 votes, Yekaterinburg got 48 votes, and Baku got 23 votes. This meant Baku was out. In the second vote, Osaka got 92 votes and Yekaterinburg got 61 votes. This means Expo 2025 was the second time Osaka has hosted a world expo, after Expo '70.

Expo 2025 bidding results
City	Nation	Round 1	Round 2
Osaka	Japan	85	92
Yekaterinburg	Russia	48	61
Baku	Azerbaijan	23	-

Themes

The Expo 2025 had a theme called "Designing Future Society for Our Lives". It focused on three important ideas: saving lives, empowering lives, and connecting lives.

The "Saving Lives" idea talked about helping babies stay healthy with vaccinations, keeping water and places clean with sanitation, making good choices about food and exercise, and finding ways to live longer with better lifespans. The whole idea was called "People's Living Lab".

Purpose

The Expo 2025 aimed to help create a world where the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals are met. These are 17 goals set in 2015 to make the world better for everyone.

The Expo also worked toward Japan's goal of becoming a "super smart society," known as Society 5.0. This vision imagines a future where technology and everyday life work together to bring prosperity to all people.

Site

The main site of Expo 2025 was a big area of 155 hectares (383 acres) on Yumeshima Island in Osaka. The Grand Ring, designed by architect Sou Fujimoto, was the center of the site. It had three special areas for the themes of the Expo: Connecting, Empowering, and Saving Lives.

The Pavilion World was a place where many pavilions were gathered. It had a ring-shaped main street and a large roof that gave shade and could also be used as a walking path. In the middle of the roof was a "Silent Forest" where visitors could relax.

Water World was a peaceful area on the south side, using the beautiful waterscape. It had places to eat and drink, and it was also where fun water shows happened. In the evening, people could watch the sunset over the Seto Inland Sea from the top of the roof.

Green World was on the west side and had green spaces, a place for outdoor events, and a bus terminal. Visitors could also try out new ways to move around, like flying cars.

Marketing

Logo

The logo for Expo 2025 was created by Team Inari in Osaka and Landor Associates from San Francisco in the United States. It was shown to the public on August 25, 2020, and became very popular online. People called it “The Shine of Life.”

Mascot

Expo 2025 commemorative coin design

Main article: Myaku-Myaku

Myaku-Myaku was the friendly mascot for Expo 2025. It was designed by children’s book illustrator Kouhei Yamashita and chosen through a public contest in early 2022. Over 33,000 ideas were submitted, and Myaku-Myaku was picked on July 18, 2022, exactly 1,000 days before the Expo opened. The former Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, said the name carries meanings of history, tradition, culture, and connections with people around the world.

Commemorative coins

In April 2023, Japan announced plans to create special coins to celebrate Expo 2025. By September 2024, it was decided that ¥10,000 gold coins, ¥1,000 silver coins, and ¥500 coins would be made. These coins would be available for purchase by mail order starting March 6, 2025.

Transport

Transportation map to the Expo 2025 (As of June 2025)

The Expo 2025 was held on an artificial island called Yumeshima in Osaka Bay. Because it was an island, visitors had to use public transport like trains, buses, bicycles, boats, and taxis to get there. Private cars were not allowed except for those needing handicapped parking. Visitors could park in nearby lots and take shuttle buses to the island.

The Expo also showed off new kinds of transport, like electric buses and ships powered by hydrogen fuel cells. A new train line was built to help people get to the Expo easily. Many visitors used this train station because it did not need reservations.

Opening and closing ceremonies

Before Expo 2025 began, about 9.69 million tickets were sold ahead of time. A practice event happened from April 4 to 6, with around 98,000 people joining in. The official opening ceremony was on April 12, 2025, with important leaders such as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako, and Crown Prince Akishino attending. The Expo officially started the next day, on April 13.

The closing ceremony took place on October 13, 2025, with a theme of "For the Futures." The flag was passed to Saudi Arabia, the host for the next World Expo in 2030. Special performances and thank-you speeches were part of the celebration.

Performances

Several performances at Expo 2025 were recognized by the Guinness World Records.

A brass band with 12,300 members, the world's largest, marched through the roof ring. There was also a water event where water sprayed from 300 fountains in response to visitors' gestures. A drone show with 1,000 drones was held for 184 days, and a special show on the opening day used 2,500 drones to create the largest aerial display of a tree. Finally, a large Bon Odori dance and nightclub-style DJ concert was held on July 26 with over 3,900 people from 62 countries.

Marching band Bon Odori

Attendance

Before Expo 2025 opened, organizers thought about 28.2 million people would visit during its six months. On the first day, April 13, 2025, around 146,000 people came, including a concert by Ado. Because of weather, some plans like an air show were cancelled, and there were some problems with tickets and crowds.

In the beginning, not as many people came as expected, but by May, more people started visiting. By June 29, the Expo had welcomed its 10 millionth visitor. As the Expo continued, more and more people came each day. By September, over 200,000 people visited each day. By the end of the Expo, more than 20.7 million tickets were sold, which was more than needed to make the Expo successful.

Reception

A survey by the Asahi Shimbun in June 2024 showed that many people in Japan were not very interested in attending Expo 2025. Out of almost 3,000 readers, 81% said they did not plan to go, with many in Osaka feeling the same way. Reasons included high ticket prices, not knowing enough about the attractions, and safety worries. Most people also did not approve of using public money for the expo.

Even though the Grand Ring area was praised, some parts of the expo faced criticism before it opened. During the event, issues like long lines, some bad behavior from visitors, and safety concerns affected the experience. At first, the expo's official mascot, Myaku-Myaku, had mixed reviews, but it later became popular. Visitors enjoyed taking photos with the mascot's statue and visiting Myaku-Myaku House.

Participants

Countries

Withdrawn countries (with dates of withdrawal)

Afghanistan (1 November 2024)
Argentina (18 June 2024)
Botswana (27 December 2024)
El Salvador (27 December 2024)
Estonia (14 November 2023)
Greece (29 November 2024)
Iran (27 December 2024)
Mexico (14 November 2023)
Niger (1 November 2024)
Niue (18 June 2024)
Russia (28 November 2023)
South Africa (27 December 2024)

Non-participating countries

Source:

International organizations

Withdrawn international organizations

Pavilions

The Expo was held on an artificial island called Yumeshima, located in Osaka Bay, with a view of the Seto Inland Sea. In addition to Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, additional structures and pavilions were designed by well known Japanese and international architects and designers such as Shigeru Ban, Atelier Brückner, Norman Foster, Lina Ghotmeh, Kengo Kuma, Michele de Lucchi, Yuko Nagayama, Nendo, Yoichi Ochiai, Carlo Ratti, RAU Architects, and SANAA. The Pavilion area was located in the Expo's centre, with waters in the southern part and greenery in the western part of the expo. The following countries would have pavilions present at the Expo:

Self-built pavilions (Type A)

Small pavilions (Type B)

Commons A pavilions

Commons B pavilions

Commons C pavilions

Commons D pavilions

Commons F pavilions

Domestic pavilions

Women's Pavilion in collaboration with Cartier
Osaka Healthcare Pavilion
Kansai Pavilion

Pavilions for private sectors

Electric Power Pavilion
Gas Pavilion Obake Wonderland
Gundam Next Future Pavilion
Iida Group and Osaka Metropolitan University Joint Pavilion
Mitsubishi Pavilion
NTT Pavilion
ORA Gaishoku Pavilion
Panasonic Group Pavilio
Pasona Pavilion
Sumitomo Pavilion
Tech World Pavilion (Taiwan's private sector pavilion)
Yoshimoto Pavilion
Zeri Japan Blue Ocean Dome

Signature pavilions

Better Co-Being – Hiroaki Miyata
Future of Life – Hiroshi Ishiguro
Playground of Life: Jellyfish Pavilion – Sachiko Nakajima
null² – Yoichi Ochiai
Dynamic Equilibrium of Life – Shinichi Fukuoka
Live Earth Journey – Shoji Kawamori
Earth Mart – Kundō Koyama
Dialogue Theater – Naomi Kawase

Directors

The directors of Expo 2025 were announced on May 23, 2019. They included Hiroyuki Ikeda, Kengo Sakurada, Hirofumi Yoshimura (Governor of Osaka), and Ichirō Matsui (Mayor of Osaka). Hiroyuki Ishige served as the secretary general, with Hiroyuki Takeuchi and Manatsu Ichinoki as vice secretaries general.

Masakazu Tokura is the current chairman and Representative Director of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition. He has held this position since June 2021.

Concerns and controversies

The planning for the Expo 2025 faced several challenges. In 2017, the building costs were first set at 125 billion yen, but by 2020, these costs rose to 185 billion yen due to higher living costs. By 2023, the total cost reached about 235 billion yen. In 2022, the government had to add another ¥83.7 billion for extra expenses like security and support for countries with less money.

There were also rules about smoking that caused problems. The Expo had a total smoking ban, but some people did not follow the rules. There were worries about smoking causing fires because of gas found near the venue.

Some health issues came up too. Small insects called chironomids, which look like mosquitoes but do not bite, were found around the Expo site. This made some visitors uncomfortable. There were also reports of bacteria called Legionella found in some water areas, but later tests showed the levels were safe, and the water shows started again.

Some overseas pavilions, like those from Angola, Malta, and China, had problems with unpaid costs for builders, causing complaints.

Legacy

After Expo 2025 ended, Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City asked private companies for ideas on how to use the site. They chose two plans. One plan, from seven companies including Obayashi Corporation, suggested building a race track, a big arena, a shopping mall, and a hotel. The other plan, from six companies including KEPCO Real Estate Development, proposed creating a fun resort with a water park and a hotel, connecting to the nearby MGM Osaka that was being built.

A group including the Expo Association, Osaka Prefecture and City, and local businesses talked about what to do with the Grand Ring after the Expo. They decided to keep a part of it as a climbable area and turn the surrounding area into a park to remember the Expo. When they invite private companies to develop the site, this special area will be kept aside for the park.

Originally, the ring was supposed to be taken down after the Expo, with the wood used for other things. But some companies want to keep 200 meters of the northern ring as a special spot. The governor of the Osaka Prefecture suggested keeping 600 meters of the southern part. In October 2025, officials from Ishikawa Prefecture suggested using parts of the Grand Ring to help rebuild houses in Suzu that were damaged.