The Czech Pavilion at EXPO 2025 welcomed its 1.5 millionth visitor four days before the end of the exhibition
The gates of the World Expo will close on Monday, October 13, 2025. Over the past almost six months, they have welcomed over 28 million visitors. The Czech Pavilion welcomed its 1.5 millionth visitor on Friday, October 10. The visitor was a three-year-old Japanese boy with his mother. On average, the Czech Pavilion now receives 12 to 14 thousand visitors daily, while the numbers reach up to 240 thousand for the entire exhibition grounds. EXPO 2025 enjoys considerable popularity among the Japanese, who make up as much as 95 percent of the visitors. All visitor slots have been completely sold out for the last few weeks.
The symbolic counter at the Czech Pavilion stopped on a three-year-old Japanese boy, Shikanosuke, and his mother, Mariho Kamei. “We have visited EXPO 2025 thirteen times already, and today is our last visit. But it’s also our first time at the Czech Pavilion. I really like beer, and Czech beer is famous here, so we couldn’t miss it today. I also think the Czech Pavilion is suitable for both children and adults — everyone can find something for themselves. There are beautiful glass exhibits, and I already knew about the Czech uniforms and mascot from Instagram,” Kamei commented on her visit, adding: “Before I had children, I used to travel a lot. Now it’s not as easy. But EXPO offers a unique opportunity to experience different countries and cultures all in one place. My son loves the exhibition just as much as I do, and more than once we’ve stayed here together until the evening.”
The family received a certificate for the one and a half millionth visitor, featuring the national pavilion and mascot René, signed the visitor's book, and received an invitation to the afternoon cultural program of the Bonifantes choir. For dinner, they had kulajda soup, bao bun with duck meat, stuffed dumpling with pork, and cake with fruit and cream cheese.
The 1.5 million visitor mark was reached just six weeks after the pavilion welcomed its millionth visitor on September 2, 2025. Furthermore, on Wednesday, October 8, a daily record was broken at the entire EXPO 2025 – 237,000 people visited the exhibition grounds. The Czech pavilion now receives an average of 12 to 14 thousand visitors.
“Reaching 1.5 million visitors is a huge success and encouragement for us. The Czech pavilion has become a meeting place for people from all over the world, where our culture, creativity, and innovation are interconnected. We greatly appreciate the interest of the public and experts alike – their support confirms that our participation in EXPO 2025 is meaningful and yields concrete results,” says General Commissioner of the Czech Republic's participation in EXPO 2025, Ondřej Soška.
Japanese visitors to the Czech exposition admire the beautiful and imaginative glass sculptures by Rony Plesl and Studio SIN, murals by Jakub Matuška aka Masker, audiovisual elements by Studio Lunchmeat, the Herbarium glass installation by Lasvit, whose twin has been located at the UN headquarters in New York since September of this year, the Crystal Grid glass installation by Preciosa, or also3D printing from Prusa Research and the mascot René figurines, which they can search for throughout the pavilion. The interactive section on the third and fourth floors and the Czech restaurants on the first and fifth floors, offering typical Czech dishes, are particularly popular. The terrace on the roof of the pavilion is also a favorite place to watch the Japanese organizers' evening Air & Water show; no other pavilion has such an exclusive view.
About the Czech Pavilion at EXPO 2025
The Czech Republic is participating in the World Expo as an independent state for the sixth time. Ondřej Soška has held the position of General Commissioner since September 2022. The design of the pavilion in the shape of a glass spiral emerged from an open architectural competition, which was won by Apropos Architects studio in March 2023. The supporting structure of the building consists of modern wooden CLT panels, while the facade is made of artistic glass, which has a tradition of several hundred years in the Czech Republic. The national pavilion offers a dignified base for the Czech Republic's participation in EXPO 2025, which takes place from April to October 2025 on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay. The pavilion houses a permanent exhibition, the Daisue Hall multifunctional auditorium, facilities for business meetings, a restaurant, a CTP lounge, and a relaxation zone with a sea view is available for visitors in front of the pavilion. Cultural performances take place almost every week from Friday to Sunday. The pavilion was successfully approved in early April 2025 and is the largest wooden building of its kind without a metal supporting structure in Japan. It officially opened to the public on April 13, 2025.
