The cultural call for Czech participation at EXPO 2025 attracted 187 projects. The evaluation of the projects has begun
The Commissioner General's Office for EXPO 2025 and the Czech Centres have recorded a huge interest from the Czech artistic and cultural community in the opportunity to present at the next World EXPO 2025. A total of 187 projects have applied for the open call. The call has been open for roughly two months, with the highest number of applications coming in the last two days.
"We launched the Open Cultural Call to map the interest of the artistic sphere in participating in the presentation of Czechia in Japan and to give the opportunity to virtually anyone to apply. Just as in the case of the architectural competition for the design of the national pavilion, we consider this to be the most transparent way of selecting the best and most interesting things that we as Czechia can show to Japanese visitors. And I have to say that we are delighted, as more than 180 projects have been submitted and we honestly did not expect such a huge number of submissions at all. The cultural presentations will undoubtedly complement our business program perfectly. I would like to thank everyone for their efforts. Now we have a challenging job ahead of us to study and evaluate all the submitted projects," says Ondřej Soška, the Commissioner General of the Czech participation at EXPO 2025.
Now is the time for the organizers of the call to check the formal correctness of the applications before handing them over to the expert jury. First, they will have to study them all, and then evaluate them so that the Office of the Commissioner General and the Czech Centres can announce the results during October.
"The great interest and receptiveness of the cultural community to the public call underlines the important and irreplaceable role of cultural presentation in the Czech participation at EXPO 2025 in Osaka. Both individual creators and professional artistic ensembles, especially in the field of performing arts, music, and other related genres, many with proven successful international experience, have applied for the call. I am convinced that many of the cultural projects we received through the public call will also have the potential to be used in cultural presentations in the network of Czech Centres abroad." says Přemysl Pela, Programme Director of the Czech participation at EXPO 2025.
The expert partners of the cultural call are the Institute of Arts - Theatre Institute, a public-benefit organization of the Ministry of Culture supporting the presentation of live art abroad, and the service organization Nová síť supporting live art and open culture. Nová síť is, among other things, the administrator of the Czech cultural network Nová síť, which brings together more than 30 organizations across the regions of Czechia.
EXPO 2025 will be held from 13 April to 13 October 2025 on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka, Japan, and will welcome nearly thirty million visitors, 85% of whom will come directly from Japan. The central theme of the exhibition is Creating the Future Society for Our Lives. The cultural program of the Czech National Pavilion will reflect the theme Talent and Creativity for Life, with an emphasis on Czech talent and innovation.
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 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.
About Czechia’s participation at EXPO 2025
Czechia 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.