Around the World at Expo2025! Discover the Charm of Official Participants’ Pavilion
Category: blog
Less than 300 days remain until the opening of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan! Expo-related events are being held in various locations, and you are beginning to see more and more Expo posters around town. In Yumeshima, the site of the Expo, construction is progressing, including the wooden Grand Roof Ring, which will be the centerpiece of the Expo. Inside the Grand Roof Ring, pavilions (exhibition halls) will be set up by various countries, institutions, and companies. In this issue, we will introduce the “Official Participants’ Pavilion” among the many pavilions.
What is Official Participants’ Pavilion?
As of June 18, 161 countries/regions and 9 international organizations have announced their participation in Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. The official participants will select one of the three sub-themes of the Expo, “Lives,” as well as a theme based on the premise of addressing one or more of the 17 goals of the SDGs, and will have exhibits showcasing the technologies and cultures of their respective countries. This will be a place where ideas from around the world will be gathered to solve common human issues such as global warming and poverty.
The United States, France, Italy, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and other countries have already announced outlines of their pavilions, including their appearance and themes. All countries have unique and well-designed exteriors. We are looking forward to seeing the Official Participants’ Pavilions that will decorate the venue!
List of Official Participants’ Pavilions from the EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai Expo official website
For example, Italy, known as a country of arts, will be designed by Italian architect Mario Cucinella on the theme of “the ideal city of the Renaissance.” For example, Austria, the capital of which is Vienna, the city of music, designed a magnificent spiral object with a musical score as its motif. Each country’s culture and history is a unique motif in the building design! I can’t wait to see them completed.
Italian Pavilion with the theme “Art Reborns Life”
© BWM Designers & Architects
Austrian Pavilion designed with a musical score motif
Introducing the Official Participants’ Pavilion, which is the center of attention! What is the theme of each country?
Official Participants’ Pavilion is attractive for its unique appearance of each country. Among them, Kodawari Times introduces two countries that have caught our attention. We will take a closer look at the highlights of each country, including building designs and themes.
Germany Pavilion
©Germany Pavilion／MIR LAVA facts+fiction
The Federal Republic of Germany is located in central Europe. It is known as an economic powerhouse and is Japan’s largest trading partner in the EU. The name of the German pavilion is “Wa! Germany”. “Wa” has triple meanings in Japanese: “Wa 輪” means “circle” of circular economy, the “Wa 和” of harmony between nature and technology, and “Wa わ” means “wow” to the exclamation.
Circular Economy – (c) German Expo Pavilion / facts and fiction | GL events | lava
The theme of the exhibition is “Circular Economy,” and the seven circular wooden buildings are designed to resemble cycles. The seven circular wooden buildings are designed to resemble a cycle. Exhibits will include a section on the cycles of nature, such as water and plants, as well as circular products produced in Germany.
The building materials can be completely dismantled or reused, making it a fully recycling-oriented building. In this time of global problems such as resource scarcity and global warming, we would like to learn about the importance of a circular economy at the German Pavilion!
©Germany Pavilion／MIR LAVA facts+fiction
Also, a palm-sized mascot character named “Circular” will guide visitors and provide explanations! I hope they will collaborate with MYAKU-MYAKU, the mascot character for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan!
Netherlands Pavilion
© Plomp
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is located in northwestern Europe, facing the North Sea. It is a country with which exchange has continued for four centuries since 1600, when Japan was closed off from the rest of the world.
The theme of the Netherlands Pavilion is “Common Ground,” which means sharing and creating new values together.
The design of the building, named “A New Dawn,” has a sphere in the center that represents the rising sun. It is the same as the sun on the Japanese flag! In addition, the walls are decorated with curving lines that evoke the image of clean energy generated from water.
The building is designed to be disassembled and reassembled!
© Plomp
The pavilion will introduce technologies that generate clean energy from water and the potential for a recycling-oriented future that does not emit toxic substances. In fact, a quarter of the Netherlands’ land area is below sea level, and the country is in danger of being submerged by rising sea levels. In order to stave off this crisis, they are mainly focusing on climate change countermeasures and energy transition.
We would like to join with them in thinking about how we can solve global warming, energy resource shortages, and other global-scale problems.
Expo will make you feel like you’re traveling the world
With the outline of the Official Participants’ Pavilion overseas gradually becoming clearer, the opening of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan is becoming more and more exciting! There are also events being held that will be attended by the countries participating in the Official Participants’ Pavilion, so be sure to check them out.
Last but not least, one of the attractions of the Expo is that you can experience the country as if you were visiting it. By visiting the pavilions of each country, you will feel like you are traveling around the world! A toll pass that allows you to enter the Expo as many times as you like during the opening is also available, so why not tour the Official Participants’ Pavilion and make a round-the-world trip?
[Click here for ticket information for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan]
https://www.expo2025.or.jp/en/tickets-index/
[Click here to learn more about the 2025 Osaka, Kansai Expo]
