Malta spends over half a million on Osaka Expo pavilion for AI history installation

Malta’s participation in the 2025 Osaka World Expo cost taxpayers €542,000, new parliamentary figures from the Economy Minister have revealed.

With Malta Enterprise overseeing the procurement of international vendors for the project, the pavilion, titled “Catch the Wave, Catch the Opportunity,” was designed by EM Architects and features digital installations by New York-based WEVR, a firm specialising in immersive experiences. 

The pavilion’s main attraction is a large-format video wall mimicking Malta’s limestone architecture, followed by another large indoor nine-by-three-metre screen displaying a fictionalised, AI-assisted, selective retelling of Maltese history. Visitors then pass through to an outdoor area serving Maltese food.

WEVR’s collaboration with Heritage Malta used 3D photogrammetry and AI to recreate historical scenes, jumping from St Paul’s shipwreck, around 60 CE, to the 1500s with the Knights of St John. The video ends with futuristic themes – such as renewable energy and the metaverse. 

The World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” brings together over 150 countries to showcase innovations in sustainability, technology, and global cooperation. Running from April 13th to October 13th, 2025, the event expects millions of visitors to explore pavilions focused on solving global challenges like climate change, digital transformation, and social inequality. Malta’s participation aims to position the island as a crossroads of history and innovation.