Osaka Wins Bid to Host World Expo 2025

November 24, 2018

Paris- Japan won its bid to host World Expo 2025 in the western city of Osaka, at a general assembly meeting of the Bureau International des Expositions, or BIE, in Paris on Friday.

It will be the second World Expo in Osaka Prefecture following the 1970 show in the city of Suita.

Osaka won the bid after two rounds of voting by BIE member countries, beating the two rivals of Russia's Ekaterinburg, whose campaign was led by President Vladimir Putin, and Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, which aimed to take advantage of its massive oil money.

"The election of Japan as the host country of World Expo 2025 marks the start of an exciting journey for Osaka," BIE Secretary-General Vicente Loscertales said.

The host of World Expo 2025 was decided by secret electronic voting by 156 of the 170 BIE member countries.

In the first round, Japan and Russia won 85 votes and 48 votes, respectively, and moved into the second round, where Japan defeated Russia, 92 votes to 61 votes.

Russia and Azerbaijan highlighted in their campaigns their wish to become a World Expo host for the first time. World Expos take place every five years.

"We want to hold a World Expo that would break the existing image of World Expos," Osaka Governor Ichiro Matsui told a press conference in Paris after the victory.

Ahead of the voting, the three candidate countries gave their final presentations at the BIE meeting to seek support for their bids.

Japan's presentation was attended by Matsui, industry minister Hiroshige Seko and Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe joined through a video massage.

Welcoming Osaka's win, Abe said in a statement that the Osaka exposition "will be a great opportunity for Japan to show its attractiveness to the rest of the world."

"I'm confident that the event will spark off an increase in the number of tourists to Japan and revitalization of the regional economy," he added.

Osaka aims to utilize virtual reality and artificial intelligence technologies to hold the exposition, whose main theme is health and longevity.

The event will take place on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay, with some 28 million visitors expected during its 185-day period from May 3, 2025.

The Japanese government estimates that the exposition will generate economic effects worth about 2 trillion yen.

The Osaka prefectural and municipal governments aim to invite a so-called integrated resort featuring a casino to a Yumeshima area near the planned World Expo site. Jiji Press