TOKYO: Following the final day of the Osaka-Kansai Expo on Monday, the Bureau International des Expositions announced that Saudi Arabia’s pavilion was awarded the gold medal for the best architecture and landscape in the top Type A category.
The silver medal went to Spain and the bronze to the UAE.
The award for the smaller category of Type A pavilions went to Bahrain, which won over Czechia and Switzerland.
The expo’s organizers said the total number of visitors to the event in the six months since it opened on April 13 was 29,017,924. This figure included 3,438,938 AD Pass holders, or on-site service providers. The actual number of tickets sold was 22,069,546.
Tokura Masakazu, chairperson of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, had a message of unity on the final day, saying the expo reaffirmed that in a world facing division, 160 countries gathered to say that the world is “diverse, yet one.”
Ishige Hiroyuki, secretary-general of the association, said the expo achieved its three core goals: avoiding major accidents, remaining financially solvent, and attracting many visitors. He attributed its success to constant improvement and “overwhelmingly attractive content,” as well as the contributions of the visitors, staff, and media.
