World Expo 2025 Opens in Osaka

The long-awaited World Expo 2025 finally opened in Osaka on April 13, with over 10,000 people attending the official opening ceremony. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was played to mark the start of the event, which Japan hopes will unite a world divided by the existing tensions and instability. It will last 6 months, till October 13, with more than 170 countries, regions, and organizations presenting their futuristic exhibits in 80 pavilions. Each of these pavilions has a unique architecture that presents achievements in science, technology, construction, and art. 

The number of people who have already decided to visit Expo 2025 exceeds 28 million and ScrumLaunch Co-Founder Dmytro Riazanov is among those who have already visited the event. So, we want to share what he has seen and his overall experience. 

The World Exhibition, or Expo, is an international exhibition symbolizing industrialization and serves an open platform for presenting technical and technological achievements. The first World Expo in London in 1851 was dedicated to demonstrating previously unseen technical innovations. The Eiffel Tower was built for the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889. Although it irritated many city residents, it was a sensation for most visitors and finally became a symbol of Paris and even the whole country. The Atomium in Brussels and the Space Needle in Seattle were also built for the Expo in 1958 and 1962, respectively. These world-famous attractions still attract visitors from all over the world. 

Hosting a World Expo was considered a profitable and prestigious project for a long time. It promised economic growth, huge investments in infrastructure, great popularity, and prestige. However, these days, Expos are very expensive events, even for rich countries, with people usually viewing them very critically. Besides, the times when you had to go somewhere to witness the latest technological, scientific, and other achievements are long gone. In our time of digital technology, everything can be seen on the screen of a computer or mobile phone. 

That's why the concept of the modern Expo has changed. It is aimed not only at surprising visitors with their scale and spectacle but also at making them think about important things. World exhibitions in Hanover, Milan, Shanghai, and Dubai were primarily aimed at exploring important questions like how cities can be more comfortable, what new solutions can be found in transport, energy, and the economy, and how we can better protect the environment. All these are questions that require answers at the global level. No country wants to miss such a global event that enables showing off its achievements. 

The theme of the second Osaka Expo is "Creating a Future Society for Our Lives." The two central questions that the World Expo in Osaka is dedicated to are: What will the society of the future be like, and what will our life look like tomorrow. The main issue of Expo 2025 is preserving human life, which is especially important in a time of global discord, tension, and wars in Gaza and Ukraine. The city previously held the Expo in 1970, setting a record for the number of visitors, drawing 64 million people. That record was only broken decades later, in 2010, in Shanghai.

The exhibition is held on the artificially created island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay and will showcase innovative works in the following areas: vaccination, healthy nutrition, and lifestyle. Particular attention is paid to the protection of the environment. Another special place is given to the issue of expanding the possibilities of a prosperous existence in the era of artificial intelligence and robotics through education and employment.  Expo organizers are confident they will be able to surprise visitors with flying cars, new achievements of artificial intelligence, even pop culture such as Hello Kitty and Gundam, and much more. Attention will also be paid to mutual understanding between different cultures.

One of the key sights of the exhibition is the Grand Roof Ring, designed by renowned Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. It encircles the Expo's central pavilions, and its rooftop Skywalk offers views of the Seto Inland Sea and Osaka's skyline. This massive wooden structure, recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's largest wooden architectural structure on March 4, 2025, embodies profound symbolic and practical meanings tied to the Expo's theme, "Designing Future Society for Our Lives." Fujimoto told CNN, "The whole global situation is very unstable… [the ring] is about unity," emphasizing its role as a counterpoint to division in an era of conflict.

Like the Eiffel Tower (controversial but later iconic) or Atomium (futuristic and divisive), the Grand Ring aims to define Expo 2025 and Osaka. Its wooden construction sets it apart from steel or glass predecessors, aligning with 21st-century green priorities. However, unlike the permanently preserved Eiffel Tower or Space Needle, its temporary status and cost controversies make its long-term legacy uncertain.

At World Expos, the greatest attention is traditionally paid to the pavilions of the participating countries. For visitors to be surprised and remember a pavilion among dozens (sometimes 100+) of others, it must be as visually striking, immersive, and memorable as possible. Therefore, countries that can afford it invest a lot of money in the design and concept of exhibition pavilions at Expos. For Expo 2025 Osaka, wealthier nations like the USA and Germany are building Type A pavilions (custom-designed, costing $10–50 million), per expo reports. Other nations often opt for Type C pavilions (shared spaces with basic setups),  costing $1–5 million).

The USA pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka marks America's return to Osaka since 1970 by showcasing a 118 g lunar basalt sample from Apollo 17 as a token of gratitude for Japan's enduring partnership in space exploration.  ​The pavilion is themed "Imagine What We Can Create Together," highlighting American innovation, culture, and collaboration. Its design features two triangular buildings with a wooden facade juxtaposed by a suspended cube, as well as a performance stage. The pavilion invites visitors to think in new ways about what is possible as they make their way through five immersive exhibits showcasing American leadership in technology, space exploration, education, culture, and entrepreneurship.

Germany is presenting the idea of ​​a circular economy in its pavilion at Expo 2025. It doesn't sound very attractive, but it is nevertheless very important. A circular economy that is climate-neutral and without waste production is crucial for sustainable development. The theme of the "circular economy" is expressed through a group of cylindrical wooden buildings. 

The Republic of Korea pavilion, themed "With Hearts," aims to introduce visitors to the future society of 2040. The exterior wall features an impressive 27×10-meter display showcasing K-POP concerts and tourist attractions representing Korean culture. The interior of the pavilion features cutting-edge digital technology, including an innovative system that uses artificial intelligence to analyze visitors' voices and transform them into orchestral music.

The EU pavilion is explicitly inspired by the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative, which promotes sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion in architecture and design, which aims to decarbonize buildings. The NEB aims to decarbonize buildings through energy-efficient materials (e.g., bio-based) and circular design, and the pavilion reflects this by highlighting EU projects in sustainable housing, green tech, and textiles. The pavilion features immersive installations, interactive activities, and talks with high-profile speakers to showcase EU-Japan collaboration and EU policies on sustainability and inclusivity. 

The Azerbaijani pavilion is themed "Seven Bridges for Sustainability". It features an impressive facade with seven majestic arches inspired by Nizami Ganjavi's "Seven Beauties" poem, each symbolizing a thematic aspect of Azerbaijan's identity. These are cultural diversity, heritage, traditional arts, architectural treasures, sustainable development, natural resources, and sports and tourism. Seven arches act as narrative gateways, using immersive technologies and sensory elements to showcase Azerbaijan's past (e.g., shebeke crafts, oil heritage) and future (e.g., sustainable development, tourism). 

The Spanish pavilion's theme is the Kuroshio Current, a powerful North Pacific ocean current that historically facilitated maritime routes between Spain and Asia. The pavilion's architecture is shaped by the ocean and sun, symbolizing life's essential resources and the shared maritime identity of Spain and Japan. It highlights the blue economy, focusing on sustainable ocean-based industries (e.g., fisheries, renewable energy, tourism). 

The France pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka unfolds as "A Hymn to Love," a bold showcase of French savoir‑faire, innovation, and sustainable development. Its theatre‑like facade and plant‑covered living roof create a self‑regulating microclimate while minimizing environmental impact. Inside, visitors embark on an immersive journey structured around four cornerstones—Emotion, Innovation, Vision and Diversity—exploring French art, science and industry through ascending and descending perspectives, aerial walkways, tapestry galleries and a secret garden beneath the pavilion.

The Australian pavilion architecture is inspired by the Eucalyptus flower, the symbol of Australia. Sustainability is a core principle of the pavilion, aligning with Expo 2025's theme, "Designing Future Society for Our Lives," and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The pavilion's main structure reuses a steel framework from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, built by contractor ES Global. It reduces the carbon footprint and material waste. The pavilion employs circular economy principles, using minimal construction materials and a light-permeable fabric shell to lower energy use.

The Ukrainian pavilion, decorated with blue and yellow national flags and a "Not for Sale" sign, attracted visitors with a globe and other items with barcodes. By scanning them, visitors can see videos about people's lives during the war and their rebuilding efforts.

While national pavilions emphasize each country's contributions and perspectives, thematic pavilions encourage visitors to engage with broader global themes, fostering a collective dialogue on shaping a sustainable and inclusive future. Thematic pavilions are curated around specific global issues or concepts. Designed by experts from various fields, these pavilions aim to explore and address universal challenges such as environmental sustainability, food security, and the integration of technology into daily life.

For instance, the Advanced Air Mobility Station is a thematic pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka. This pavilion offers an immersive theater experience called "SoraCruise," simulating the sensation of flying in next-generation air vehicles through realistic visuals, surround sound, and floor vibrations. It also features exhibits on advanced air mobility technologies, including a full-scale mock-up of the 'SKYDRIVE' eVTOL aircraft. Visitors can learn about the dedicated takeoff and landing site for advanced air mobility, known as the EXPO Vertiport, which will host demonstration flights during the Expo.

Robot & Mobility Station demonstrates how robots can coexist with humans in daily life. This station features over 50 next-generation robots from 19 companies and organizations, performing tasks such as guidance and navigation, transportation, cleaning, and security. A notable innovation is the AI Suitcase, an autonomous guidance robot designed to assist visually impaired individuals.

Bottom Line:

Expo 2025 seems more like an entertainment event, but at the same time, when visiting it,  you begin to understand that its meaning is somewhere deeper. It isn't just a showcase of what's possible, it's a reminder that progress is a shared journey. In a world often divided, it offers something rare: a space where cultures connect through innovation, not competition, showing up for the planet, for people, and for the future we all share. With global collaboration, real innovation, and bold thinking, we're not just imagining the future, we're building it together.