28 October 2022, Osaka – Saudi Arabia has formally confirmed its participation at Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai on the sidelines of the first International Planning Meeting (‘IPM’), reaffirming its commitment to global collaboration. The six-month event, which will unite people and governments from diverse backgrounds, will take place under the universal theme, “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”. With the aim of fostering global dialogue and exchange, the event will address the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (‘SDGs’) under three sub-themes: Saving lives; Empowering Lives; and Connecting Lives. The first IPM, which was held in the host city of Osaka, provided an opportunity for attendees to further explore the themes of Expo 2025, along with operational and regulatory guidelines associated with hosting a pavilion.

The Kingdom’s first World Expo attendance was at Expo 1958 in Brussels and its participation at Expo 2025 will build upon the successes of its pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, which welcomed around 5 million visitors – almost 24% of total visits to Expo 2020 – and received the “Best Pavilion” award in the large suites category.

Saudi Arabia formally submitted its own bid to host Expo 2030 in September this year, under the proposed theme of “The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow”, indicative of its vision to bring together countries, international organizations, and other stakeholders to foster cooperation and encourage collective action towards a brighter future. The host country of Expo 2030 will be elected by the Bureau International des Expositions Member States at a General Assembly set to take place in November 2023.