Silesia Region won the hearts of visitors at Expo 2025

The opening ceremony of the Silesia Region Week was attended by a delegation from the region led by Deputy Marshal Leszek Pietraszek. Also present was a mission of entrepreneurs organised by the Upper Silesian Fund.

• Poland Pavilion was visited by 25 948 visitors and over 100 VIP delegates.
• 1150 people listened to piano concerts performed by the winners of the ‘Music from Chopin’s Country’ competition.
• 1,600 people attended 24 workshops organised by the 9Sił Foundation, the Śląsk Song and Dance Ensemble, the Drawing Film Studio in Bielsko-Biała, the University of Silesia and the Ateneum Theatre in Katowice.
• Concerts and performances by the Ateneum Theatre on outdoor stages were attended by 1,650 people.
• Concerts by the Śląsk ensemble in front of Poland Pavilion were attended by 600 people.

A total of 31 048 people attended all events.

As part of the economic promotion, representatives of the Silesia Region organised:

• An economic mission with representatives from the medical industry, IT, the creative industry represented by the Serfenta Association – which already has distribution of its products in Tokyo – and the Polish Mining Group. A total of 10 companies participated in the mission;
• Economic Conference “Land of Opportunities. Silesia-Japanese Economic Conference’ with 80 participants. It was organised by the Marshal’s Office of the Silesia Region and partners: the Upper Silesian Fund, the City of Katowice and the Katowice Special Economic Zone.

On 7 May, the economic conference from the Japanese side was attended by representatives of Gifu Prefecture with Mrs Nobuyo Yamashita – Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sports, representatives of companies: TAK co., Ltd and Eisai Co., Ltd from Gifu and representatives of hospitals: Gifu Prefectural General Medical Center and Central Japan International Medical Center. Professor Kohsaku Kawakami from the National Institute for Materials Science in Tokyo and representatives of the Gamedev industry from Japan were also present.

On 8 May, a delegation of three Silesian hospitals visited Gifu Prefectural General Medical Center, following up on discussions held during the conference.

Official visits and meetings of delegations of the Silesia Region:

• On 4 May, representatives of the Gifu Prefecture with Deputy Governor Yasuhiro Omori took part in the inauguration of the Silesia Region Week;
• On 6 May, a delegation from the Office of the Marshal of the Silesia Region led by Deputy Marshal Leszek Pietraszek visited the Gifu Prefecture in connection with the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the two regions; 
• On 8 May, participants of the economic mission held business meetings in Nagoya.

On the occasion of European Union Day on 9 May, Poland Pavilion at Expo 2025 was visited by a group of more than 30 ambassadors of European countries. The guests listened to the ‘Ode to Joy’ performed by the Śląsk Song and Dance Ensemble. In the restaurant of Poland Pavilion, they tasted regional dishes at the invitation of the Polish Ambassador in Tokyo, Paweł Milewski.

Poland also got involved in the European Union Day celebrations on social media. A post on the Poland at Expo profile – about celebrating European Union Day by collecting stamps from 24 EU Member State pavilions – went viral among Japanese audiences, reaching over 181 000 impressions.

During the Silesia Region Week, Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security and Inter-institutional Relations and Transparency, paid an independent visit to Poland Pavilion with a group of 15 people.

A nice touch for the youngest at Poland Pavilion was Children’s Day, which is celebrated in Japan on 5 May. During Children’s Day at Expo 2025, young winners of the “Music from Chopin’s Country” competition performed in the Pavilion’s concert hall.