Swiss pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka embodies lightness and sustainability

Press releases, 02.02.2023

The next world exhibition will be held in 2025 in Osaka, Japan. As a major international event with significant media coverage, Switzerland will use Expo 2025 as a platform to further deepen relations with Japan as one of the most important trading partners in Asia and to showcase Swiss innovative strengths and sustainability – with the lightest pavilion at the event.

Illustration of the Swiss pavilion in Osaka.
The Swiss pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka. © House of Switzerland

The next world exhibition will be held in Osaka from 13 April to 13 October 2025 under the theme of 'Designing Future Society for Our Lives'. The organisers are expecting 150 participating countries and 28 million visitors. In view of the great significance of the host country Japan as one of the most important economic partners in Asia and the close cooperation at political and multilateral level, the Federal Assembly approved a credit of CHF 19.4 million in December 2022. Through the acquisition of sponsors, the net expenditure for the Confederation amounts to CHF 13.2 million.

"Our presence in Osaka will be an important showcase to position Switzerland as an innovative and reliable partner that extends a hand to tackle the major global challenges together with other nations. The aim is for our presence to have an impact not only on the general public, but also in the long term in the economic and scientific spheres," says Alexandre Edelmann, interim head of Presence Switzerland.

Business potential for Swiss companies and tourism

Switzerland's presence at Expo 2025 in Osaka will centre on positioning Switzerland as an efficient, leading innovation hub with a focus on the three thematic areas of 'Life': life sciences, health and nutrition, 'Planet': environment, sustainability, climate and energy, and 'Augmented human': robotics and artificial intelligence. Working together with the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), Swiss ERI actors and other partners, the aim is to show how Swiss innovative strengths serve sustainability and prosperity, by means of concrete Swiss initiatives, research projects, services and products. Participation is also of great interest to Swiss companies and tourism, given the significant business potential.

The smallest ecological footprint at Expo 2025

The Swiss pavilion will stand out not only thanks to its spherical architecture with five spheres embedded in a lush green landscape, but also because it will be the pavilion with the smallest ecological footprint at Expo 2025. The shell of the exhibition spaces is composed of a foil supported by a lightweight construction. It weighs no more than 400kg – just 1% of a conventional building shell – and can be transported with two to three cargo bikes. The foil is recyclable and will be made into specially designed furniture after the Expo.

In a two-stage tender for the design, construction and dismantling of the Swiss pavilion in Osaka, the project of the team Nüssli, Manuel Herz Architekten and Bellprat Partner was selected.

As a founding member of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), Switzerland has participated in most world exhibitions. Under the leadership of Presence Switzerland at the FDFA, it has succeeded in establishing an attractive brand with the Swiss pavilion, both for the general public abroad and for its domestic partners. This was also evident at Expo 2020 in Dubai, where the Swiss pavilion was one of the most popular and most visited national pavilions.


For further information:

Alexandre Edelmann, interim head of Presence Switzerland
alexandre.edelmann@eda.admin.ch
Tel.: +41 76 585 58 92


Further information:

Swiss pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka


Address for enquiries:

FDFA Communication
Federal Palace West Wing
CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
Tel. Communication service: +41 58 462 31 53
Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
Twitter: @SwissMFA


Publisher:

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs