Eiffel Tower, ketchup, meteorite, unusual pavilions: what are the purposes of World Expos?

World Expos, 175 years of history

These globally resonant events, which attract millions of visitors every five years or so to a city around the world, began in 1851 with the "Universal Exhibition" held in London to celebrate the burgeoning Industrial Revolution.

Inspired by the national exhibitions in Paris, the British Empire then built the immense Crystal Palace, a revolutionary structure with immense glass surfaces, to accommodate 14.000 exhibitors from 40 countries.

Subsequent editions grew in scale: in Paris, the 1889 Exposition featured the Eiffel Tower (an attraction meant to be temporary), and the 1900 Exposition left its legacy in the Grand and Petit Palais.

At the time, in addition to technological developments, the imperial powers presented their colonies with openly racist representations.

In the collective memory, Expos are mainly linked to architectural legacies (such as the Atomium for Brussels-1958), the attractiveness which has lastingly transformed certain organizing cities, and the futuristic technologies presented.

Major innovations were unveiled to the general public there: ketchup, the telephone, X-rays...

Picasso's pacifist painting "Guernica" was first exhibited there in 1937.

Where do they take place?

In addition to various European nations, the Expos traveled the world: the United States (Philadelphia from 1876, then Chicago, Saint-Louis, etc.), Australia (Melbourne-1880), Canada (Montreal-1967), and then Asia later (Osaka already in 1970, before Shanghai in 2010).

The last edition took place in Dubai in 2021-2022.

The Paris-based Bureau of International Exhibitions has been organizing the event since 1928. More than 180 countries are members, and the host city is chosen by a vote of the general assembly.

The 2025 edition is the second Expo to be held in Osaka: the 1970 Expo, where a lunar rock was on display, attracted 64 million visitors, a record that stood until Shanghai 2010.

Until Seattle in 1962, the United States hosted seven Expositions, which left iconic monuments such as the Seattle Space Needle.

The last World's Fair in France dates back to Paris in 1937.

Do we still need the Expos?

World Expos, where countries continue to boast about their strengths and showcase future technologies, may seem outdated in the age of the internet, mass media, and the democratization of travel.

Reflecting the major lack of interest among both the Japanese and the international public, which is not very targeted, ticket sales for Osaka 2025 are off to a very disappointing start.

Finally, global conflicts, geopolitical and commercial tensions shake the idealistic values ​​at the heart of the Exhibitions.

Osaka 2025 organizers, however, emphasize the importance of face-to-face exchanges between nations and the "unexpected encounters" made possible by such gatherings.

"Humans are creatures who have progressed by coming together, interacting and sharing," they argue.

And to point out the attractions of universal interest in Osaka: a meteorite from Mars, a beating "heart" grown from stem cells...

Yusuke Nagasawa, 28, a middle school teacher, aims to bring 140 students there on a school trip, "an important opportunity" for them.

"It's a valuable learning experience, to be able to experience real things, human contact, which cannot be transmitted through a screen," he told AFP.

"I find it fascinating to learn about countries I've never been to (...) And people from several countries have approached me to chat," he adds.

Places of architectural experimentation?

Architecture plays a central role at World's Fairs, where nations compete in the bold appearance of their pavilions.

Osaka 2025 is no exception: the Chinese pavilion evokes an unrolled calligraphy scroll, while the Portuguese pavilion -- designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma -- features ropes imitating "the movement of the ocean."

"Universal Exhibitions have always been, and continue to be, places of architectural experimentation," Isaac Lopez Cesar of the Spanish University of A Coruña confirmed to AFP.

They provide a forum "where new architectural forms, new materials, new designs and types of structures, and, more generally, new technological advances applied to architecture are tested," he explains.

What environmental impact?

Sustainable development themes are omnipresent at Osaka 2025, particularly in the Swiss pavilion, which features transparent spheres interwoven with vegetation and aims to minimize its ecological footprint.

But World Expos have often been criticized for their temporary nature, with the majority of pavilions destined to be destroyed after six months of public exhibitions.

After October, the artificial island hosting Osaka 2025 will be razed to make way for a hotel complex with a casino.

And according to the Japanese press, only 12,5% ​​of the "Great Ring" -- the colossal wooden structure surrounding the dozens of national pavilions -- will be reused.