A general view shows the "Myaku-Myaku", the mascot of the 2025 Osaka Expo as the Gundam pavilion is seen behind on the first day of the six-month 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka on 13 April 2025. World Expo opened on 13 April with 160 countries and regions showcasing their technology, culture and food, with host Japan hoping to provide the world with some much-needed hope.
Philip Fong / AFP
The Philippine Pavilion officially opened its doors today at Expo 2025 Osaka, drawing enthusiastic crowds eager to experience one of the Expo’s most anticipated national pavilions. Built around the theme “Nature, Culture, and Community: Woven Together for a Better Future,” the Pavilion captivated guests with the largest collaboration of Filipino weavers ever assembled and a multisensory journey that blends traditional craftsmanship with tech-powered storytelling. From the striking woven façade to the emotional resonance of its immersive installations, the Pavilion delivered on its promise to be both visually stunning and deeply meaningful—inviting visitors to connect with the Philippines in a wholly new way.
Photo courtesy of DOT
Visitors walk past the ‘Grand Ring.’
Richard a. brooks/agence france-presse
Guests were welcomed by the Pavilion’s intricate façade, showcasing 212 indigenous fabrics from across the Philippines. While the live performance element is set to debut later this month, the handwoven panels already drew admiration for their scale, detail, and symbolism. “This façade is a statement,” said Carlo Calma, lead designer of the Pavilion. “We wanted the structure itself to breathe and move with the stories it holds. It reflects who we are as Filipinos—always in motion, always evolving, always expressive.” Inside, visitors explored a curated space anchored by 18 handwoven art pieces, each representing a region of the country. Created over six months by master artisans using both traditional and unconventional materials—abaca, cotton, candy wrappers, even chicken feathers—these works are enhanced with light, sound, and projections that transport guests to each region’s story.
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Expo 2025 kicked off Sunday in the Japanese city of Osaka but in the age of online information and mass tourism, what is the purpose of a World's Fair?
The huge events, which draw millions of visitors to a chosen city every five years or so, hark back to London's 1851 Great Exhibition held inside the Crystal Palace.
As 160 countries and regions show off their technological and cultural achievements at the six-month Osaka Expo, AFP looks at what it's all about:
Expanding on national expositions in Paris at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, Imperial Britain built an immense glass Crystal Palace to host 14,000 exhibitors from 40 countries.
That marked the start of the Expo phenomenon that over the decades introduced the world to ketchup, the telephone and X-ray machines among myriad other technologies.
The Paris edition of 1889 featured the Eiffel Tower — intended as a temporary attraction — and Pablo Picasso's anti-war painting "Guernica" was first shown at one in 1937.
Historically, World's Fairs did not just exhibit new technologies but also included racist displays of actual people from the colonies of the time.
While World Expos still showcase future technologies, some argue that the advent of the internet, mass media and cheaper foreign travel have made them redundant.
Global turmoil in the form of conflicts and trade wars has also led critics to question the idealistic values of unity and development touted at the events.
But organizers of Expo 2025 in Osaka have stressed that in-person exchanges between nations and the resulting "unexpected encounters" are still important.
Middle school teacher Yusuke Nagasawa said attending was a "valuable learning experience, to be able to actually experience the realism and warmth of the people, which cannot be conveyed through a screen."
"I've seen the excitement, and people from various countries have approached me for chats," added Nagasawa, who plans to bring about 140 pupils to the Expo next month.
Among the dizzying number of displays this year are a meteorite from Mars, a beating "heart" grown from stem cells, and the world's largest wooden architectural structure.
Since 1928, the Paris-based International Exhibitions Bureau has run the Expos. More than 180 countries are members and the host city is chosen by a vote of its general assembly.
This is Osaka's second World Expo after the 1970 edition — featuring a Moon rock — that was attended by 64 million people, a record until Shanghai in 2010.
The United States once held frequent World's Fairs, as they are known there, leaving behind landmarks such as the Space Needle in Seattle and New York City's Unisphere.
But the world's largest economy last hosted one in 1984, with some experts saying their popularity has been overtaken by the Olympic Games and attractions such as Disneyland.
Buildings often take center stage at World Expos and this year is no exception, with each country dressed to impress.
The Chinese pavilion's design evokes a calligraphy scroll, while the Portuguese one created by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma features ropes that "evoke the movement of the ocean".
"Expos have always acted, and continue to act, as places of architectural experimentation," said Isaac Lopez Cesar from Spain's University of A Coruna.
They offer a forum "where new architectural forms, new materials, new designs and structural typologies, and, in general, new technological advances applied to architecture are tested", he told AFP.
Themes of sustainability run through the Expo, including at the bauble-like Swiss pavilion, which aims to have the smallest ecological footprint.
But World Expos have been criticized for their temporary nature, and after October Osaka's man-made island will be cleared to make way for a casino resort.
According to Japanese media, only 12.5 percent of the wooden "Grand Ring" — a vast structure that encircles most of the national pavilions — will be reused.
