UAE PAVILLION AT EXPO 2025 OSAKA CROSSES
FOUR MILLION VISITOR MARK
Milestone comes days after UAE Day celebrations, reinforcing the Pavilion’s place as one of the Expo’s most admired destinations
Dubai, UAE, September 26, 2025: The UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, has proudly welcomed its four millionth visitor, marking another major milestone in its journey as one of the most visited and celebrated national pavilions.
The milestone comes just days after the Pavilion marked UAE Day at Expo 2025 with official ceremonies, cultural performances, and high-level participation. A delegation led by His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, attended alongside senior officials from the UAE and Japan, Expo leadership, commissioners general, and thousands of visitors. The day underscored that the UAE’s innovation and progress are inseparable from its cultural identity, while also highlighting the nation’s enduring friendship with Japan and its partnerships across the world as foundations for a flourishing future in line with Expo’s theme of Designing Future for Our Lives.
To commemorate the four million visitor milestone, the Pavilion hosted a participatory Nurie Pazuru (Japanese for ‘colour-in puzzle’). Visitors collaborated to fill in a large canvas on the Pavilion’s façade, gradually unveiling the number “4,000,000”. The completed artwork now stands as a shared symbol of connection and celebration, shaped by the contributions of thousands of Expo guests.
His Excellency Shihab Alfaheem, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Arab Emirates to Japan and Commissioner General of the UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, said: “Reaching four million visitors is a reminder that the UAE Pavilion is not only representing the UAE, but every person who has stepped in and experienced the hospitality of our country, engaged with our Youth Ambassadors, and become part of our story. Coming so soon after the success of UAE Day, this achievement reflects the warmth of our welcome and the genuine curiosity of those who have made the Pavilion part of their Expo journey.”
Since opening in April 2025, the UAE Pavilion: Earth to Ether has offered a multisensory journey that brings the UAE’s story to life through five thematic zones. Each zone highlights a different aspect of the nation’s achievements, from space exploration and healthcare innovation to sustainable stewardship and cultural heritage, creating an experience that resonates with audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Designed by the Earth to Ether Design Collective, a consortium of UAE, Japanese, and international partners, the Pavilion has been praised for its architectural vision and storytelling. Inspired by the cultural significance of the date palm, its 90 sculptural columns were created using more than two million fronds, representing renewal and collaboration between cultures.
With Expo 2025 Osaka running until October 13, the UAE Pavilion continues to draw strong interest from global audiences. It has become a meeting point for cultures, ideas, and experiences, with every milestone given meaning by the visitors who make it part of their journey.
About UAE Expo Office
The UAE Expo Office serves as a national platform to convene people, ideas, and innovations in the service of global progress. Incubated by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation and operating under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office leads the UAE’s strategic participation at international expositions — most recently Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.
The UAE Expo Office was created with a clear purpose: to bring together people and innovations to address challenges facing humanity. Guided by the values of optimism, openness, ambition, and resilience, the Office delivers magnetic and meaningful experiences that inspire action and foster collaboration across cultures, sectors, and generations.
Through curated programming and strategic partnerships, the UAE Expo Office designs environments that accelerate progress — connecting global audiences and catalysing solutions in education, healthcare, sustainable technologies, and space exploration. In doing so, it contributes mindfully to the overarching goals of each Expo, while generating distinctive value for the UAE through content, ideas, and initiatives that may not otherwise have emerged.
At Expo 2025 Osaka, the UAE Expo Office aims to bring joy, curiosity, and collaboration to every visitor encounter. Its work is anchored in the UAE’s vision for inclusive global development, and its programming will empower new thinking, shared purpose, and collective progress— from the Earth to the Ether.
About UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka
The UAE Pavilion, Earth to Ether, is an immersive multisensory journey through the UAE story, from our values and cultural heritage to our pioneering innovations. Our Japanese and Emirati Youth Ambassadors will welcome you to learn about our Explorers of Space, Catalysts of Healthcare, and Stewards of Sustainability, who are drawing on heritage and cutting-edge technology to tackle global challenges. Join us in accelerating collective progress towards a flourishing future for all life, from Earth to Ether.
Taking design inspiration from our cherished date palm tree, we reimagined areesh, traditional vernacular architecture of the UAE. Fusing agricultural date palm waste with Japanese woodworking expertise, the pavilion bonds our two cultures in the spirit of collaboration.
From our first pavilion in Expo Osaka ’70, to our nation’s hosting of Expo 2020 Dubai, we have an enduring legacy of gathering with the world to accelerate collective progress. As we return to Osaka, discover how tradition drives progress as we push the boundaries of what is possible–drawing on our heritage to create a lasting legacy of impact.
Visitors can also experience an authentic Emirati culinary experience at our restaurant, peruse a curated selection of products by UAE-based creatives at our shop, and enjoy a dynamic range of programs activated in our workshop space.
The UAE Pavilion, Earth to Ether, is located in the Empowering Lives zone, near the Japanese Pavilion and Shining Hat exhibition hall. We are welcoming guests daily between 09:00 and 21:00, April 13 to October 13, during Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.
For more information, please visit the Pavilion website: https://uaepavilionexpo.com/
You can also follow the pavilion on our social media channels:
Instagram: @uaeatexpo
X: @uaeatexpo
LinkedIn: @uaeatexpo
YouTube: @uaeatexpo
TikTok: @uaeatexpo2025
Facebook: @uaeatexpo
For media enquiries, please contact: media@uaepavilionexpo.com
