Can Osaka surpass Dubai?

The Universal Exhibition, also known as “Expo,” is the world’s largest event, boasting attendance figures that surpass those of the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games. Launched in 1851, this global exposition serves as a platform for nations to proudly showcase and share their achievements in cutting-edge architecture, technological innovations, and environmental initiatives with the world. The Dubai Expo, held from October 2021 to March 2022, features a record-breaking 192 participating countries, and for the first time in history, each country has its own independent pavilion.

The theme of this Expo is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” with three sub-themes: “Opportunity,” “Mobility,” and “Sustainability. ”The Opportunity Pavilion explores concepts and technologies aimed at improving quality of life through water, energy, and food, reflecting the 17 themes of the SDGs. The Mobility Pavilion brings together insights on all forms of transportation—including humans, cars, airplanes, rockets, and the IT sector—while the Sustainability Pavilion showcases the latest achievements in natural resource regeneration technology.

Originally scheduled to take place in 2020, the Dubai Expo was postponed, like many other events, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and is now being held starting October 1, 2021.Over the course of 182 days, visitors can experience more than 60 daily events, including fantastical architecture, theater, ballet, poetry recitals, concerts, opera, as well as nighttime light shows, acrobatics, and 360-degree video presentations. Furthermore, at over 200 restaurants, visitors can savor the delicate and sophisticated global cuisine of Michelin-starred chefs, while also experiencing robot-prepared meals and virtual reality dining.

Unlike previous World Expos, which have traditionally been held in the spring and summer, the Dubai Expo was the first to take place in the fall and winter. This is why Christmas, New Year’s Eve, the Lunar New Year, and International Women’s Day were celebrated on-site for the first time. Additionally, events such as International Children’s Day, Human Rights Day, Education Day, and Happiness Day were also celebrated, uniting citizens from around the world.

Another key business strategy was the construction of the new Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) just outside the Expo grounds, with visitor flow designed so that attendees had to pass through the DEC to reach the Expo entrance. While past Expos have served as platforms to showcase the latest innovations to the world, having both private and public sectors exhibit right next to the Expo grounds created further synergies and generated numerous business opportunities.

Thanks to this buzz, the Dubai Expo has attracted many celebrities as a must-see event of 2021/2022, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Prince William of the United Kingdom, Queen Mathilde and King Philippe of Belgium, Usain Bolt, Prince Albert of Monaco, and Andrea Bocelli.

The organizers of the Dubai Expo have created a grand-scale event that combines a wide range of content—including technology, innovation, the SDGs, the Dubai Exhibition Centre, and the “One Country, One Pavilion” concept—to deliver an unforgettable experience. I was most surprised to learn that 90% of the Expo site will remain even after the event concludes, becoming a symbolic legacy of how major events should be.

As of early March, when this article was published, more than 15 million people had already visited the Dubai Expo, the vast majority of whom were citizens of the United Arab Emirates, though there were also many visitors from overseas. Considering that overseas travel has become nearly impossible for many countries, including Japan, due to the impact of COVID-19, this is a remarkable success.

The next World Expo will be held in Osaka, Japan, on May 3, 2025. While we don’t yet know what the event will entail or how Japan will welcome visitors from home and abroad, it is already certain that surpassing the Dubai Expo will not be an easy feat.

Let’s do our best!