Latest news with #pavilions
Bloomberg
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
How Osaka's World Expo Compares to Its Famous Predecessors
The 2025 World Expo opened in Osaka in April with a $66 billion price tag, featuring pavilions from 158 countries. The event isn't generating the same buzz as the first world's fair held in the Japanese city in 1970, which featured a bold, futuristic theme and lots of wild architecture. And to many, these international spectacles are viewed as relics of the past. But historian Charles Pappas argues that world's fairs are still worth having in an ever-more-fractious world. In a conversation with contributor Mark Byrnes, he discusses his new book Nobody Sits Like The French, which makes his case by tracing how the historic fairs of Paris (the city hosted seven since 1855) helped shape the infrastructure that transformed life in the French capital. They also discuss how the current expo stacks up to its more recent predecessors, many of which have been held in non-Western cities. Today on CityLab: Do World's Fairs Still Matter? — Rthvika Suvarna
The National
07-06-2025
- The National
Emirati architect to pick best pavilions at Expo 2025 Osaka
An Emirati architect has been selected by the BIE, the governing body for World Expos, to serve on a jury that will award the best pavilions at the Expo 2025 Osaka. For Ahmed Bukhash, being asked to be part of a nine-member team that will choose the Official Participant Awards is a special honour, as he has deep links to Japan where he spent several years as a postgraduate student. It shows the beauty of Expo and what every country has to offer Ahmed Bukhash, Emirati architect Mr Bukhash is also the only Emirati architect to have designed a pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. The stark, white tent-like structure is one of the legacies that remains on the Expo City Dubai site, and has been redesigned as a museum on the world's fair. 'It is honestly a lifelong dream not only to design an Expo pavilion in Dubai but also to be selected as a jury member in Japan, which I call my second home,' Mr Bukhash told The National. 'It is a true privilege.' Heartfelt message Mr Bukhash just returned to the UAE after the first round of evaluations last month, when jurors assessed large and medium-sized pavilions at the Osaka Expo. The world's fair has welcomed more than five million visitors since it opened in April, with over 150 nations taking part. The jurors return to Japan for the second round in October after which the winners will be announced in a ceremony on October 12, a day before the Expo ends. Pavilions are judged on architecture, interior design and their connection to the Osaka Expo theme "Designing a future society of our lives". When The National visited the Osaka Expo, some eye-catching pavilions that had people waiting in queues included those of Austria, Bahrain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Uzbekistan. Mr Bukhash cannot reveal any details about the favourites but says the message must be "heartfelt". 'My advice for anybody travelling to the Expo is please do your own research because you will be surprised that regardless of scale, some of the content in terms of innovation, how to improve people's lives, whether through AI, technology, energy, is productive for our time and age,' he said. 'It shows the beauty of Expo and what every country has to offer.' The awards for large, medium and small pavilions, and those that use shared spaces, are typically announced at the end of the six-month fair to encourage people to visit all venues. Judges exclude themselves when the team visits their home country pavilion to avoid a conflict of interest. Shaded spaces Mr Bukhash was pleased to see a focus on shaded spaces at the Osaka Expo similar to the attempt in Dubai to offer visitors respite from the summer heat. 'I was very happy to see architectural interventions that provide shading, spaces that reflect a kind of canopy system around the pavilion,' he said. 'Our main challenge is the changing global climate. That is a problem that we are facing as we experience higher than normal exposure to the heat.' As a student, Mr Bukhash studied the Japanese language for a year in Japan in 2003 before completing a master's degree in architecture at the Kyoto Institute of Technology. His education there is reflected in the work handled by Archidentity, the design studio he runs in Dubai. Clean, uncluttered lines dominate residential villa, mosque projects and work on a Japanese school in Dubai. People-centric designs that adapt to the local environment are key. 'It's no longer about having extraordinary energy boosted into air-conditioning systems, but you really need to look at passive solutions to provide shading and a comfortable temperature,' Mr Bukhash said. 'A natural ventilation system protects us from the heat and allows for the natural flow of wind.' Legacy design Mr Bukhash was also a judge for the Dubai Expo 2020 where the Saudi, Dutch, Singaporean and Japanese pavilions were among those awarded for architectural and design excellence. Working with the Expo in Dubai had an impact as he always factors in how the space can be used in the future. 'We always try to consider the past and future requirements,' he said. 'When we design buildings, we think of how to expand its lifespan, so that as the family expands, so does the building with them. "This is something we learnt when designing the Expo pavilion when we had to look at the immediate requirements and the legacy of what will happen post-Expo.' Mr Bukhash's message to young students is to embrace technology, design with sensitivity and always think of the future. 'Technology is the way forward to provide innovation and it does not matter whether the client has an open or restricted budget, you should always design with sensitivity, care and efficiency,' he said. 'You should consider the legacy so that it serves well in terms of any expansion in the future.'
Zawya
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Zawya
Expo City Dubai offers free entry for children in summer
Expo City Dubai is celebrating Eid Al Adha with a family-friendly offer, offering free admission for children under 12 to three of its major pavilions until 30 September. The offer gives families a chance to enjoy air-conditioned, educational experiences during Dubai's hottest months without the added cost for young visitors. Children can access Terra, the sustainability pavilion that offers an immersive journey under the forests and oceans, Alif, which offers a hands-on, high-tech experience through the history of movement from ancient innovations to mission to Mars, and Vision, which tells the story of Dubai's transformation under the vision of its ruler. The initiative aligns with the festive season and encourages local and visiting families to discover Expo City's engaging spaces, blending interactive learning with meaningful entertainment, ideal for Eid Al Adha activities and summer escapes.
Japan Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Japan's 2025 Osaka Expo draws 5 million visitors in first six weeks
The 2025 Osaka Expo has welcomed 5 million visitors in its first six weeks, organizers say, despite lukewarm enthusiasm for the event ahead of its opening. A Mars meteorite and a beating artificial heart grown from stem cells are among the displays at the expo, in which more than 160 countries, regions and organizations are participating. The event opened on April 13 and runs until mid-October, with most of the pavilions encircled by the latticed "Grand Ring," the world's largest wooden architectural structure. On Monday, the 5 millionth visitor entered the vast waterfront site, organizers said in a statement. "The number of visitors to the Expo ... increased from 4 million to 5 million in seven days," they said, adding that more visitors were coming "with each passing day." So far 12.4 million tickets have been sold to the event. Organizers have set a total target of 23 million. Also known as a World's Fair, the expo phenomenon, which brought the Eiffel Tower to Paris, began with London's 1851 Crystal Palace exhibition. It is now held every five years in different locations around the globe. Osaka last hosted the expo in 1970, when Japan was booming and its technology the envy of the world. It attracted 64 million people, a record until Shanghai in 2010. Opinion polls before Expo 2025 opened showed low levels of public enthusiasm, with analysts saying inflation and high accommodation costs due to a record influx of foreign tourists to Japan could put people off buying tickets.
SoraNews24
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
The Osaka-Kansai World Expo has lots of food and souvenirs, if you dare enter where they're sold
They are not for the faint of heart or wallet. In my previous reviews of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai World Expo, I came to the basic conclusion that it's a pretty good time as long as you don't focus on more than one of the major pavilions and explore the more open areas with an equally open mind. I also found it to be busy but not overly congested, save for one exception: the souvenir stores. There are a few gift shops around the venue and each one is operated by a different company. Near the West Entrance, you'll find one run by Kintetsu Railway and another right next to it by JR West. Meanwhile, by the East Entrance, there's one managed by bookstore chain Maruzen Junkudo and another by Daimaru department stores. ▼ Inside the Daimaru Expo store They all have a slightly different array of goods, with almost everything bearing the likeness of Expo mascot Myaku-Myaku, but one thing they have in common is that they're insanely busy and crammed with people. ▼ This Myaku-Myaku doll display is very symbolic of the overall situation. The whole experience and all the elbows to the ribcage involved in it took me right back to the many mosh pits I found myself in during the '90s. Here's a look at some of the goods available, and I apologize for the photos which are not up to my usual standards as I was getting shoved around and could barely get glimpses of the shelves in the scant moments people weren't picking them clean. Often in articles like these, we like to ask the staff what the most popular items are. However, at the Kintetsu store the staff were insanely busy and it didn't matter anyway because I could see swarms of people buying stuff in real time to tell you what the hot items were. When I was there, people were going after the plush toys featuring Sanrio characters like Hello Kitty, dressed up as Myaku-Myaku. Despite being steeply priced at 13,200 yen (US$92) for the large ones and 6,930 yen for the small ones, the staff were literally struggling to keep the shelves stocked with them. The plush key chains provided a much cheaper alternative, with the elongated Nobi Myaku-Myaku ones only 880 yen each. Students seemed to be going for these ones mostly due to their price and ability to accentuate a school bag. Some were dressed up as comedians or Osaka obachan. I admit I scoffed at these when I first wrote about them, but the Myaku-Myaku piggy banks for 8,800 yen were getting very low on stock when I was there. Perhaps it's how they marketed it? The JR West store was also a madhouse, but slightly less so and I was able to quickly ask a clerk what the biggest seller was. She told me it was the Myaku-Myaku Assorted Sweets for 2,499 yen. For the most part, food items were more sanely priced. However, the stores seemed to know when they had something interesting and priced accordingly. Case in point was the Myakumen instant ramen for 2,116 yen. JR West also had some Myaku-Myaku crossovers with dolls of the ICOCA card platypus mascot dressed as the Expo mascot. There were also some Myaku-Myaku-Minion items, showing that Universal Studios Japan and the Osaka-Kansai Expo were partners rather than rivals. Over on the other side of the venue, the Maruzen store had a diverse range of Myaku-Myaku items, such as different-colored dolls, super balls, and omamori lucky charms. Items that didn't have Myaku-Myaku were few and far between but some interesting ones here were wall hangings and displays featuring artwork from Dragon Ball or Ranma 1/2 . Prior to coming here, I had planned to try my hand at the Myaku-Myaku capsule machine in the Daimaru shop. It sold Myaku-Myaku figurines with a rare chance to get a silver or gold one. However, it had already sold out by the time I got there. There were also some Myaku-Myaku Tamagotchi at one point but those had sold out by the time I got there too. Considering it was only a couple weeks into this six-month event and stuff was already selling out, hopefully they'll either get some more stock prepared or are planning the next wave of different items. ▼ Myaku-Myaku Hi-Chews were also pretty popular but luckily they were well stocked with those. It's hard to recommend browsing one of these shops unless there's something you really want to get or you're into full-contact sports. Luckily, for more casual purchases there were smaller satellite souvenir stalls set up elsewhere in the venue. The selection is more limited but there also weren't as many people. Thankfully, getting something to eat isn't as much of a physical ordeal for the most part. There are some major chains like Sushiro and Kurazushi there, but they're about as popular as the major pavilions there. Because it's possible to book a table at Kurazushi using their app, I gave it a shot two weeks in advance, but still couldn't get a seat. ▼ Sushiro to the Future: Expo Edition ▼ Maneki ekisoba restaurant But aside from those, there are several food-court-style places to eat, and they never seemed too busy that I couldn't get a seat, even around lunch and dinner time. However, as I mentioned in a previous article, the pricing is rather severe. I opted for this food court in the northeast part of the venue because it had a gorgeous Aomori-style paper lantern float by the entrance. Even the different food vendors there had lantern-style signs up. I decided to get some Takoyaki from the stall run by Kukuru, a popular octopus-ball shop in Dotonbori. It seemed like an appropriate thing to get at the Osaka-Kansai Expo and they had a cool robot that slathered on the Takoyaki sauce and mayo. This paper cup of beer and tray of takoyaki set me back 1,900 yen, a price that I believe would get you arrested for trying to charge in Osaka proper. It was good though, and the cuts of octopus inside were much larger than your typical takoyaki at least. For more budget-conscious nourishment, the three big convenience store chains, Family Mart, 7-Eleven, and Lawson also have locations inside the venue. The bottom line is that you should probably go into the Expo expecting to drop a fair bit of money, much like you would at any theme park. Another thing to note is that most places don't take cash here, which shouldn't bother visitors from overseas but is still a little strange for Japan. There is a limited range of lower priced items so you can still walk away with something though, even when on a budget. I tried to make a game of it by finding something cheap without Myaku-Myaku and came up with this box of T.M. Revolution cakes for just 1,404 yen. It still had Myaku-Myaku but it was the best I could do. I hadn't been sure if Myaku-Myaku was all that popular until actually going to the Expo and seeing people gobble up items with its likeness. It kind of makes me wonder if that gooey creature will still be around in Japan once the event has finished. Photos © SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
