Construction of the World Expo 2025 venue on Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay is progressing steadily, where the man-made island is being transformed into a major international event site expected to attract a projected 28 million visitors from around the world.
When TTGmice paid a site visit on October 10, the wooden platform – with a circumference of two kilometres and a height of 12 metres – encircling the Expo was already up. Called the Grand Ring, it would be the world’s largest wooden structure upon completion, and stand as a symbol of “connecting” all life.
For the 2025 event happening over six months from April 13 to October 13, eight of Japan’s leading filmmakers, media artists, and professors will have their own pavilions under the theme of “life”. There will also be 13 pavilions taken by private sectors, such as a Mitsubishi Pavilion and Gundam Next Future Pavilion, alongside domestic pavilions such as the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion, and a Women’s Pavilion in collaboration with Cartier.
More than 160 countries and regions have signed up to showcase their unique cultures and technological innovations, as well as nine international organisations such as the Red Cross.
A variety of events will take place daily on-site, ranging from water shows to fireworks displays, to orchestral music and manga and anime-related events.
Organisers will be building a Forest of Tranquillity in the middle of the Expo site, and guests will be able to ride in electric buses to get around.
Matsuda Hirokazu, deputy director of the global public relations and promotions division, Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, shared that a new train station, the Yumeshima Station, was specially built to help transport visitors to and from the Expo.
When asked what would happen to the station after the Expo, Hirokazu shared that there is a possibility it would continue operations in light of the upcoming integrated resort.
While there are discussions about repurposing the Expo site for large-scale events, the possibility of dismantling it also remains on the table.
The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition is a special-purpose association that was formed five years ago – and staffed by various Japanese government organisations – when Osaka won the bid to host the World Expo.
Osaka last hosted the World Expo in 1970, which attracted 64.2 million visitors from 76 participating countries. This will also mark Japan’s third time hosting a World Expo, following the 2005 event in Aichi Prefecture.
