The Czech National Pavilion welcomed an exceptionally rare visitor. The Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba visited the Czech Pavilion as the first international pavilion at EXPO 2025. Over the weekend, the World Expo exhibition grounds on Yumeshima Island also opened to the public for the first time ever as part of a trial run for around 90,000 people. Preliminary figures are reported by Japan News. The Czech Pavilion was only open for half a day on Sunday due to the Prime Minister’s visit. Despite this, 10,000 people passed through it in this short time and 1,200 beers were sold within a few hours.
“I am truly delighted that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba chose the Czech pavilion for his visit, which reflects the theme of sustainability and CLT technologies, the use of which he has long supported in the construction industry. The Prime Minister highlighted the architectural sophistication of the building and expressed his belief that the Czech pavilion will become a popular destination for visitors from all over the world. He also appreciated the rich program of cultural and business events, which he believes will contribute to further deepening cooperation between the Czech Republic and Japan. Finally, he enjoyed traditional Czech cuisine during lunch in the CTP Lounge on the roof of the pavilion, thus concluding his visit,” says Ondřej Soška, the Commissioner General of the Czech participation in EXPO 2025, describing the details of the meeting.
The Prime Minister was accompanied to the visit to the Czech national pavilion by his wife Yoshiko Ishiba, the president of the Japanese construction company Daisue Kazunori Murao, and the Czech Honorary Consul in Sakai Kazumasa Kuzumura. As part of the visitor’s tour (permanent exhibition), the Prime Minister left his signature on the wall as a memento and drew a popular Japanese character, Oba Q, for visitors. He also praised the mascot of the Czech participation, René. Lunch included kulajda, stuffed dumplings with smoked meat, buns with shodó and Pilsner lager.
A test run was also held throughout the EXPO area over the weekend. Thanks to it, the Czechs received valuable feedback from visitors and are working on implementing the suggestions. However, a number of participating countries did not open their pavilions over the weekend because the final inspection had not yet taken place or they had not received the final inspection decision, or they were continuing with preparations for the opening. The Czech Republic received the final inspection decision last week and is in the first half of countries that have a final inspection pavilion, despite the fact that this is an exceptionally demanding construction that has no parallel in Japan. The EXPO 2025 World Exhibition begins on Sunday, April 13, 2025, and will last for the next six months.
About the Czech Pavilion at EXPO 2025
In December 2022, the Office of the Commissioner General announced an open anonymous architectural competition for the design of a national pavilion for EXPO 2025 after more than twenty years. 38 teams applied, from which the expert jury headed by the world-renowned architect Eva Jiřičná selected the winning design in the shape of a glass spiral by Apropos Architects in March 2023. The supporting structure of the building is made of modern wooden panels, while the facade is made of art glass, which has a tradition of several centuries in the Czech Republic. The National Pavilion will offer a dignified backdrop for the Czech participation in EXPO 2025, which will take place from April to October 2025 on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay. The pavilion houses a permanent exhibition, a multifunctional auditorium, facilities for business meetings, restaurants, a CTP lounge, and in front of the pavilion, there is a relaxation area with a sea view for visitors. The pavilion was successfully approved at the beginning of April 2025 and is the largest wooden building of its kind without a metal supporting structure in Japan.
About the Czech participation in EXPO 2025
The Czech Republic will participate in the EXPO world exhibition for the sixth time as an independent state. The position of Commissioner General has been held since September 2022 by Ondřej Soška, who won the tender of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with his concept and theme “Talent and Creativity for Life”. The Czech Republic will present itself in Osaka not only with what the Japanese know very well and have long admired, such as Czech glass and classical music, but also with Czech innovations, nanotechnologies, promising startups and talents from the regions.
More information can be found on the website of the Czech participation in the EXPO 2025 World Exhibition. You can also follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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