PH Pavilion bags silver for exhibit design at World Expo 2025

OSAKA, Japan — The Philippine Pavilion, which boasts of an immersive experience of Filipino culture and craftsmanship, clinched the Silver Award for Design Exhibition at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.

Given by the Bureau International des Expositions, the award recognizes the creativity and theme development of the exhibits inside self-built pavilions at the Expo.

Poland’s Pavilion clinched gold, while Austria secured bronze. 

The Philippine Pavilion — with the theme ‘Nature, Culture, and Community: Woven Together for a Better Future’ — has attracted over 1.1 million visitors as of Oct. 11, according to the Tourism Promotions Board Philippines. 

The six-month run of the Philippine Pavilion at the World Expo 2025 ends on Monday, Oct. 13. 

A pavilion of hope: ‘We will rise together’ 

TPB Chief Operating Officer Maria Margarita Nograles said the Philippine Pavilion also serves as a symbol of hope amid the recent natural disasters plaguing the Philippines. 

“While the pavilion celebrated millions of visitors, our hearts were also with our fellow Filipinos back home who endured unprecedented challenges caused by climate change and yet,” Nograles said in her speech at the ceremonial closing of the Philippine Pavilion. 

“Through it all, this pavilion stood as a reminder that we are a people who will rise and we will rise together….We showed the world that even in the face of nature’s fiercest tests, the Filipino spirit will continue to shine.” 

Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia-Albano said the Philippine Pavilion went beyond its aim of attracting foreign tourists in the country as it also opened “more opportunities for our economy.” 

“There are a lot of Japanese businesses who are very interested in the Philippines now, and they show their interest by really being there,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino. 

Albano said they are already pitching possibly sourcing products of Filipino small and medium enterprises to be sold in known retail stores in Japan. 

The Philippine Pavilion, according to the TPB, will again come to life at the ASEAN Tourism Forum — Travel Exchange in Cebu, Philippines. —AOL, GMA Integrated News