OSAKA, Japan — On a wall beside the stage that hosted so much Canadian talent at Expo’s Canada pavilion, staff created a message wall for visitors in the final days of the world fair.
By the time Expo 2025 in Osaka came to an official close on Oct. 13, the wall had been filled with heartfelt notes from visitors, thanking pavilion staff, sharing reflections and hopes for a visit to Canada one day.
The handwritten messages were a testament to what Canada accomplished during six months of an event some describe as a cultural Olympics.
Expo concluded with a final day celebrating the successes of an event that attracted more than 28 million visitors and also earned a profit.
The head of Canada’s Expo team, Commissioner General Laurie Peters, used her closing remarks at a Canada Pavilion ceremony to celebrate months of successful cultural diplomacy at a time when traditional statecraft has been turned on its head.
Peters shared that at last count, the Canada Pavilion has received more than a million visitors and countless new fans for more than 130 Canadian acts that performed at Expo.
Vitally important was the role the Canada Pavilion played as a venue for public diplomacy, Peters said.
“Given the state of the world and the challenges to traditional diplomacy, this Expo, and even here in our pavilion, has become a space for important conversation, dialogue, and collaboration, despite what’s happening outside of Expo,” she said.
Japan International Exposition Association Chairman Masakazu Tokura said at a closing event that this Expo “provided a wonderful opportunity to envision a better future society. The latest science and technology have been gathered here, and we have also emphasized the importance of life through various programs.”
Tokura noted that in a world facing division, there was profound significance to the fact that more than 160 countries gathered to reaffirm that the world is “diverse, yet one,” a core message of the Expo, whose theme was “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.”
Over the final two days at the Canada pavilion, visitors enjoyed a full slate of events, including a Canada quiz, ice carving, dancing, karaoke, cooking demonstrations and a pulled pork tasting.
Canada won three awards at the Expo, the Expolympic Gold award for Best Tech Integration and Silver award for Best Large Pavilion. In addition, Canada was awarded the Bronze award for Exhibition Design in the Large Pavilion Category at the final award ceremony.
Close to 100 staff at the Canada pavilion formed a special bond. Shinji Miyaji, who worked as a hosting staff member at the Canada Pavilion for all six months, said it was a remarkable experience.
“It has been absolutely fantastic working at the Expo for six months. Every day I got to meet new people,” Miyaji said. “I also made many friends at the Expo, especially the pavilion staff I worked with, who I hope can be lifelong friends.”
Another important feature of the pavilion wind down was the commitment to re-use most of the materials that were part of the pavilion structure. Structural beams that had previously been used during the Tokyo Olympics and will now go back into inventory to be regenerated into something new, Peters said.
“We’ve been looking of course at the sustainable re-use of all materials, the pavilion building, the structural beams, the floors,’’ Peters said.
In her closing remarks, Peters said that in addition to the throngs of Japanese visitors to the Canada pavilion, she was heartened to see the sense of national pride and solidarity among the large number of Canadian visitors.
“We didn’t expect to have so many Canadians visiting Osaka and their pavilion, and we were so nervous, but delighted about the response,” Peters said. “Usually, your own country’s citizens are the toughest critics — Why didn’t you show this? Why did you show that? — But I think given the state of the world right now, there is a real sense of solidarity and even pride that we witnessed here over the course of the six months.”