After several months of intensive preparations, on Tuesday, 19 September 2023 Czechia submitted necessary documents and applied for the Temporary Building Permit to the Osaka Authorities. This makes Czechia the first participating country to move closer to the realization of a national pavilion at the upcoming World EXPO.
"Based on a government decision from the end of June 2022, Czechia became the 125th country to sign up for participation in EXPO 2025. In October 2022, we signed the participation contract among the first nine countries. In August we submitted Basic Design Plan and today, I am pleased to inform you that we are the first country that applied for the Temporary Building Permit to the Osaka City authorities," says Ondřej Soška, Czech Commissioner General for EXPO 2025. One of the fundamental principles of World Expos is to introduce modern technologies and innovations to the general public. Following this principle, former Czechoslovakia introduced creative and decorative possibilities of glass, which was before that considered as purely technical material. Thanks to the presentations at Expo 1958 in Brussels, 1967 in Montreal and 1970 in Osaka the Czech glass became known all around the world. In a similar way Czechia wants to combine modern wooden structure with decorative glass façade also this time. This is, after all, one of the reasons why the country is planning to build a national pavilion of type A.
"We are extremely serious about preparations for the World Expo 2025. Our entire team is working very hard to prepare our pavilion on time and in the way we set out at the beginning of the project. We are aware of the rising prices of materials and labor in Japan, which, like Czechia, is struggling with inflation. However, we are doing our best to show the world a unique national pavilion, which is already attracting a significant amount of attention far beyond the Czech borders. We expect it to be one of the most interesting and distinctive pavilions of the entire expo," says Commissioner General Soška.
About Czech pavilion at EXPO 2025 In December 2022, after more than twenty years, the Office of the Czech Commissioner General announced an open anonymous architectural competition for the design of the national pavilion for EXPO 2025. A total of 38 teams entered the competition, from which an expert jury headed by world-renowned architect Eva Jiřičná selected the winning design in the shape of a glass spiral by Apropos Architects in March 2023. The load-bearing structure of the building will consist of modern wooden panels, while the façade will be made of art glass, which has a centuries-old tradition in Czechia. The National Pavilion will offer a worthy backdrop for the Czech participation in EXPO 2025, which will be held from April to October 2025 on the artificial island of Yumeshima in the Osaka Bay. The pavilion will house a permanent exhibition, a multifunctional auditorium, facilities for business meetings, a restaurant, a VIP lounge and a relaxation area in front of the pavilion with a view of the sea. It was designed by Apropos Architects. The engineering is developed in cooperation with the Japanese studio Kino Architects.
About Czech participation at EXPO 2025 The Czech Republic as an independent state will participate in the World EXPO for the sixth time. Ondřej Soška, who won the tender of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic last spring with his concept and theme "Talent and Creativity for Life", has been the Commissioner General since September 2022. Czechia should present itself in Osaka not only with what the Japanese know very well and have long admired, such as Czech glass and classical music, but especially with Czech innovations, nanotechnologies, promising start-ups and regional talents.
