World Expo Osaka 2025

Officially known as International registered Exhibitions, the World Expos represent international meeting platform gathering representatives from nearly all countries that last up to six months. The first-ever World Expo, then called the Great Exhibition happened in London in 1851. From then until 1928, the global exhibitions occurred without a pre-determined schedule and a governing body, leading to multiple issues. Some countries, such as France and Belgium, took on a disproportionately large amount of trade shows. As a result, the Bureau International des Expositions or BIE was created to ensure all global expos in the future follow the same standard. The common organisational framework established by IBU was set to define the size and duration of the Expos, start a rotation system between hosting states and eventually guarantee each exhibition meets the same quality and diversity criteria.

Since the late 80s, the Convention implemented by BIE was amended to differentiate two types of expos: General like the World Expo, and Special - lasting up to 3 months and is much more focused on a specific topic.

Like most regular exhibitions, the global expo promotes establishing relationships, helps economic development and improves brand image, except the exhibitors are not companies but country representatives. Each national pavilion at the World Expo is equipped with technological innovations that shape the exhibitors’ national identity and place in the world. Presenting urban development plans country exhibitors help catalyse city transformations and inspire other nations to join the global movement toward unified, sustainable living. Finally, each stand at the expo provides a glimpse of the nation to all passing participants, prospective tourists and investors. Each edition of the world Expo gives a focused overview of each country’s evolving world views, technological progress and vision for the future direction of humanity’s evolution.

The World Expo series is the largest and longest exhibition in the world. Historically most major industrial, technological, and architectural inventions that marked significant milestones in the history of human development were unveiled at the global exhibitions. The telephone, the typewriter, along with the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty, were presented to the public for the first time at World Expo evet editions.

The global exhibitions have a long and thorough candidature process for electing the host world expo country. Designed by the overseeing body – BIE, the process consists of 3 phases, totalling about five and half years until the implementation phase. Only government representatives are eligible to submit applications which are reviewed by the members of the BIE committee within six months. The election process is realised by a secret ballot taking place approximately seven years before the date of the exhibition. The first ballot elects each entry that secures a two-thirds majority vote until two candidates are left for the second and final ballot. The BIE comprises 170 countries to this day, and each of them participates in the decision-making process for electing a host country or amending the Convention.