Hurrairah bin Sohail explores BeWunder’s work in making the KSA Pavilion one of the must-visit spectacles at the Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
The World Expo provides a stage for nations to come together to present their innovations, culture, traditions, and visions for the future.
Expo 2025 was staged in Osaka, Japan, and it served as a platform for countries to highlight their unique identities and perspectives to a global audience.
Among the most prominent and ambitious of these national showcases was the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Pavilion. The second largest pavilion at Expo 2025, behind the Japan Pavilion, it was a sprawling, futuristic structure highlighting the theme of progress and the country’s rich cultural heritage.
The KSA Pavilion’s design and execution were a complex blend of cutting-edge technology and contemporary architectural vision. Behind the dazzling spectacle of light, sound, and interactive exhibits, was a team of dedicated designers, creatives, and technology professionals. Foster and Partners, the renowned architectural firm, served as the overarching design lead, conceiving the building’s physical form and internal structure. The exhibition content and interior design, however, were delegated to a diverse group of creative agencies. This included Done and Dusted for the art and music, and Squint/Opera for the cultural exhibits, while 59 Productions served as the AVL and technology consultancy lead, providing the initial technical designs. THA provided live event programming through the course of the Expo.
BeWunder served as the technology integrator and turnkey solution partner. It navigated a labyrinth of logistical, cultural, and technical hurdles to deliver a world-class pavilion that became one of the Expo’s most celebrated attractions.
Japan is a country of unique traditions and has its own specific business culture. The business environment presents challenges for foreign companies and Daniel Charles, project director at BeWunder, states: “A lot of the companies that worked on Expos in the past were a little bit apprehensive to go to Japan. It is not a common country for large exhibitions to be staged in, unlike Dubai for example, so the pool of people competing for work was smaller than usual. That being said, competition was still high and the best of the best were bidding for projects.”
The “apprehension” was also present on the side of local Japanese contractors and technology professionals, who were hesitant to engage with the rapid, high-pressure timelines of an international Expo project due to the prevailing business norms related to risk.
From BeWunder’s perspective these challenges came with opportunity. Instead of shying away, the company made a strategic and bold decision to fully commit to the Japanese market. This involved establishing a KK business, a local legal entity which could smooth away the wrinkles of transacting and conducting business in the country.
Additionally, it would facilitate navigation of the country’s regulations regarding insurance, health and safety, and banking. This move was a clear statement of intent, demonstrating a commitment to the Japanese market. Charles says: “If we didn’t have the vision and the drive to actually go for it and set up a KK business, we wouldn’t have had the success that we did.”
BeWunder’s appointment to the KSA Pavilion project was late as a result of the client re-tendering the project to achieve better cost efficiency. BeWunder was awarded the contract in September 2024, a mere seven months before the pavilion’s official opening. This meant that the work was compressed into a frantic four month window.
Charles says: “When we came to the project, we had to catch up on around eight months’ worth of design that had already been done. We had to jump into the coordination with eight different stakeholders. Everything was squeezed into a very, very tight period.”
This was a planning and logistical puzzle. The physical installation on site began in January 2025 and had to be substantially completed by mid-March 2025 leaving a month for testing and commissioning. To meet the deadlines, BeWunder performed its non-creative testing and commissioning simultaneously with the creative teams, who were racing to integrate their content and show control programming. The result of the hard work was a grand, multi-faceted pavilion made possible due to the collaboration of dedicated design and creative houses.
BeWunder’s role was to be the link between the creative vision and technical reality. Its scope of work encompassed detailed design, schematics, line diagrams, and specific mounting details for all equipment. This foundational work ensured that every piece of technology, from the largest projector to the smallest speaker, was precisely placed and properly integrated.
With 59 Productions handling the initial AVL consultancy, many of the product selections had been made. This was a reality BeWunder readily embraced given the tight timelines. Charles says: “We didn’t have much time, so we couldn’t really go to the drawing board and delve into what products would be suitable and deliberate on these decisions too much.” However, BeWunder did guide the selection of products with its opinion and expertise where possible.
The KSA Pavilion comprised multiple spaces with performance venues, such as the Courtyard and the Forecourt, given prime billing. The Majlis Gallery was another important space.
Audio is delivered by d&b audiotechnik speakers with various models deployed across the KSA Pavilion as required. They are paired with d&b audiotechnik amplifiers. Shure microphones are used for audio pickup where needed.
Charles explains the decision to standardise with d&b audiotechnik speakers for a significant portion of the pavilion: “While some exhibits initially featured other brands, from our perspective the choice to go with a single supplier has great practical benefits in terms of maintenance and support. This was a pragmatic approach that prioritised longterm reliability and efficiency.”
Visuals in the Courtyard are provided by Panasonic projectors. Interestingly, despite being in Japan, BeWunder sourced its Panasonic projectors from Europe. This decision was a result of its established and strong supply chain relationships in Germany. While an unusual logistical choice, it proved effective. Charles also praised the exceptional local support Panasonic provided in Osaka, which ensured any issues were swiftly handled.
In the Forecourt, once again d&b audiotechnik speakers are pressed into action. JBL speakers are deployed in the planters for background and atmospheric audio. Aruna LED plinths have been deployed to create the ambience and deliver an interesting visual spectacle for patrons and visitors. Q-SYS cameras are also employed, and Shure MXA920 ceiling speakers can also be found.
Across the wider KSA Pavilion Aoto LED plinths with processing, Brightsign media players for digital signage, Addlux lighting panels, and ETC Lighting systems provide sizzling visuals. Yamaha mixing desks are provided for managing the audio and sound.
Video signal distribution across the KSA Pavilion is achieved with the help of Q-SYS NV encoders and decoders. Q-SYS Core 110f and 610 processors are also part of the technology system. The Q-SYS processors are also users for show control.
Charles details: “Q-SYS was a foundational element handling show control for all the exhibitions and performance spaces. It was integral to certain spaces, such as the Majlis Gallery, where it is acting like the communication hub for all the signals for all the media. With the Q-SYS processors we were able to create a unified control system across the entire pavilion. This centralisation simplified operations and maintenance, a critical consideration given the pavilion’s intensive, six-month lifespan.”
For the intricate visual experiences, including interactive exhibits, disguise media servers were selected. Charles explains why two processors were employed: “The reasons for implementing disguise were the specific capabilities required for handling some of the more elaborate and intricate content. While Q-SYS is used for overarching control and general AV over IP, the disguise servers step in for complex, content-driven experiences especially those that required interactions with guests.”
The on-site installation and commissioning phase was completed under a time crunch. Charles narrates: “We didn’t have much time to deliver but we knew this from the moment we came on to the project. We ended up having to do all the non-creative commissioning, our show control commissioning, and things like that at the beginning of April at the same time as doing creative commissioning. Everything was squeezed into a tight period, and we brought in additional engineers into Japan to make sure we completed our work on time. It is a testament to the detailed planning that went into the project that despite the compressed timeline there were no delays.”
To deliver the project BeWunder had to establish trust with the local Japanese contractors. This required developing professional relationships, a process that took time but was ultimately key to their success. Charles says: “Setting up a business entity in Japan during the short window of time we had, integrating with and educating ourselves about the local contracting rules and regulations, and familiarising ourselves with Japanese business culture was a challenge at the start. But as we developed relationships, we started to reap the rewards of our efforts and we were able to foster a collaborative environment.”
The KSA Pavilion’s grand opening on April 13, 2025, marked the culmination of BeWunder’s intensive efforts. The results have been nothing short of spectacular as the pavilion has been met with incredible reviews and has become one of the Expo’s most popular destinations.