Catalonia prepares for Universal Expo Osaka 2025

From 27 May to 1 June, Catalonia will play a leading role at the Osaka World Expo with the celebration of the Catalan Week, an initiative that will bring together more than 50 cultural, gastronomic and technological activities, and which will position Catalonia as an international benchmark for innovation, creativity and external projection. The participation, coordinated by the Spanish Pavilion, will offer a broad and up-to-date view of the Catalan identity through live performances, immersive experiences, workshops and institutional and business meetings.

In this context, the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, will make an official visit to Japan and South Korea with a clear economic, institutional and cultural agenda. In Osaka, Illa will lead the opening ceremony of Catalonia’s Day of Honour on 28 May, and will take part in various activities during the week. His trip aims to strengthen the links between Catalonia and Asia, and to promote new opportunities for collaboration, investment and connectivity, including the proposal to establish a direct flight between Barcelona and Tokyo.

For six days, Japanese and international audiences will be able to enjoy musical performances by Muchacho & Los Sobrinos, with their Catalan rumba, and the Aranese artist Alidé Sans, as well as contemporary dance performances by Pere Seda and Wonderground Company. The gastronomic space will bring together the Catalan chef Josep Barahona, based in Japan, and the sommelier Óscar Salmerón, who will offer traditional cooking workshops, tastings and wine masterclasses, highlighting the recognition of Catalonia as a World Region of Gastronomy 2025.

Technology and innovation will also have a strong presence, with proposals such as the ‘Manifesto for a Reliable Artificial Intelligence’ promoted by the DETA Alliance, demonstrations of art generated through emotions and activities that combine artificial intelligence, neuroscience and creativity. The public will also be able to take a tour of Catalonia through virtual reality, or take part in artistic workshops organised in collaboration with the Joan Miró Foundation.

In addition, audiovisual materials on architecture, language, art and tourism will be screened, including the documentary Miró Osaka, which recalls the artist’s historic participation in the 1970 Expo.

.CEJE welcomes this outstanding Catalan presence, which will contribute to intensifying relations between Catalonia and Japan in strategic sectors such as culture, technology, gastronomy and tourism, as well as opening up new opportunities for business collaboration.