Jamaica Pavilion Attracts Thousands of Visitors at Expo 2025 in Japan

Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, is officially under way, and Jamaica is making a powerful impression with its pavilion, celebrating the island’s culture, innovation and global influence.

Commissioner General of Section, Jamaica Pavilion, Maureen Smith, told JIS News that since the Expo opened to the public on April 13, the Jamaica Pavilion has emerged as a standout attraction, drawing thousands of visitors daily.

“I think this speaks volumes to the impact Jamaica has, the influence we have on the world and just how well I believe our space is curated, that it has attracted so many people,” she said.

Ms. Smith indicated that the Expo, which will run until October 13, 2025, aims to attract 28 million people over the six months, pointing out that Jamaica has a target of achieving one per cent of that number of visitors to its pavilion.

“So far, we’ve been averaging eight per cent of the overall Expo visitors, which is incredible… far more than we imagined,” she informed, adding that more than 8,000 people visited the pavilion and promotional area on April 25.

Participating under the Expo’s theme, ‘Designing Future Society for Our Lives’, Jamaica is featured in the ‘Connecting Lives’ sub-theme with its Pavilion titled ‘Out of Many, One People: Let’s Link Up’.

Ms. Smith indicated that the pavilion features statues of Bob Marley and Usain Bolt, on loan from the S Hotel, and a training sled, also on loan, from the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.

“Thousands of people per day line up to get pictures and to ask questions about these things. Once they see the things in the space, their faces light up and it’s just such a great feeling to see that,” she shared.

Other elements of the pavilion include a colourful mural by Nala Creative Studio in Osaka, a ‘music wall’ honouring dancehall and sound clash culture, a tribute to Jamaican sports icons, a display of Dunn’s River Falls and screens showcasing Jamaica’s progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Jerk chicken is also featured as one of the foods that are iconic to Jamaica.

“We have coffee sampling that we will be doing in our space. We also have our upcoming National Day, which is August 6, where we will have some artistes, dancers, a DJ and a poet that will be coming to showcase different aspects of our culture, and we can’t wait to have that on show,” Ms. Smith added.

Persons interested in getting updates on Jamaica’s participation at the Expo are invited to follow @expo2025jamaica on Instagram.