In 1988, Brisbane stepped onto the world stage, hosting Australia’s first World Expo since 1880. 37 years later, as World Expo 2025 gets underway in Osaka, Australia is once again showcasing the very best the country has to offer.
World Expo 88 was a defining moment that reshaped Brisbane’s identity and changed how the world saw Australia, and how Australia saw itself. It wasn’t just a celebration, it was a statement of confidence, capability, and ambition.
Opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 30 April 1988, Expo 88 attracted more than 15 million visitors and showcased 54 nations. For Brisbane, it was a turning point, transforming a forgotten stretch of riverbank into the civic and cultural heart of the city.
World Expo 2025 Osaka may be held in a different city, but it builds on the same idea: that world expos are not just exhibitions, they are opportunities to open doors, build connections, and remind the world what Australia has to offer.
For Amanda Cessar, who performed at the Expo as a high school student, the experience remains unforgettable.
"Running around Expo before the crowds arrived, bib over our school uniforms, playing music while jets roared overhead, it felt like being part of something huge," Amanda said. "Back then, South Bank was just dirt and warehouses. Expo turned it into the open, vibrant place it is today, a space Brisbane still treasures."
Across Australia, Expo 88 sparked national pride. Justine Martin, who travelled from rural Queensland as a teenager, remembers the wonder of seeing different cultures without ever leaving the country.
"Australia wasn’t as multicultural then," Justine recalled. "Walking through the Chinese, Japanese and Italian pavilions, getting stamps in your Expo passport, it was magical. For a country kid like me, it opened my eyes to a world I never thought I’d see."
For John McGregor, who worked at the Japan Pavilion, Expo 88 was more than a job, it was a turning point. John, now a self-described Expo enthusiast who runs the Celebrate 88 website dedicated to preserving the memory of Brisbane’s world fair, says the event shaped the course of his life.
“Expo 88 really set the course for what I did afterwards. I caught the Expo bug. It inspired me to go on and work at World Expos in Spain and South Korea, and I’ve visited many more since. This year, I’m going back, leading a small tour group to World Expo 2025 in Osaka.”
From Brisbane to Osaka: Australia's next world stage
Today, the spirit of Expo 88 lives on.
Last month, World Expo 2025 Osaka opened in Japan, with an Australian Pavilion proudly promoting the nation’s trade, innovation, sustainability, and tourism on a new global stage.
Nancy Gordon, Australia’s Commissioner General for World Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, says the echoes of Brisbane’s Expo are strong:
"World Expo 88 was a cultural milestone, it showed the world what Australians are capable of, creative, open, and future-focused. Now, almost 40 years later, we’re honouring that legacy in Osaka, showing how far we've come while holding onto the spirit that made World Expo 88 so unforgettable. This year’s Expo is already off to a phenomenal start, with more than 360,000 people visiting the Australia Pavilion in the first month alone.”
Among the more tangible legacies is the Nepalese Pagoda, still standing proudly at South Bank, one of the few structures that remain from Expo’s heady days.
Yet World Expo 88’s true legacy isn’t found in bricks or monuments, but in the turning point it marked for Australia.
It proved Australia could host a world-class event, proudly showcasing our creativity and optimism to a global audience. For many Australians who visited, it was a window to the wider world, a first taste of international cultures, new ideas, and a future beyond our own shores. And for Brisbane, it left a lasting imprint: transforming a once-forgotten stretch of riverbank into a vibrant, enduring heart of the city.
37 years on, the spirit of World Expo 88 lives on in the memories it created, the city it transformed, and the way it helped open Australia’s eyes to the world.