Online Reporter
Debra Matabvu in OSAKA, Japan
OVER 13 000 kilometres from Harare, Zimbabwe celebrated its National Day at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka yesterday with a compelling showcase of culture, investment opportunities and technological innovation.
Despite the sweltering Japanese summer, Zimbabwe delivered a vibrant and memorable experience, using storytelling, traditional performance and immersive digital displays to project an image of a country of vast promise, resilience and global ambition.
The celebrations were held under the theme “Beyond the Limits: Experience Zimbabwe – Opportunities and Our Future”, a message echoed by President Mnangagwa, who officiated the National Day ceremony.
He used the occasion to extend a clear and confident invitation to the world.
“The message is clear: Zimbabwe is open for business; open to tourism and partnerships which are, Beyond the Limits.
“Visit and invest in Zimbabwe; ‘a world of wonder’ and unmatched possibilities, for both the present, as well as the future we are building together.”
President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe’s participation in the Expo had already begun yielding results, with the country having hosted a Zimbabwe-Japan Business Forum on the sidelines of the event.
The forum, he said, created a platform to engage potential investors and highlight Zimbabwe’s economic prospects.
Zimbabwe’s economy, he told guests, is on an upward path driven by reforms under the National Development Strategy and anchored on industrialisation, infrastructure development and natural resource beneficiation.
The President also highlighted Zimbabwe’s investment opportunities in energy, transport infrastructure, ICT, agriculture and mining.
He noted the country’s rich mineral endowments and its renewed focus on value addition and beneficiation, particularly in lithium, gold, platinum and other critical minerals.
Beyond economics, Zimbabwe used the National Day to showcase its unparalleled tourism offerings and cultural heritage.
The President gets an experience of the Virtual Reality at the Zimbabwe Pavilion.
The President described Zimbabwe as home to the majestic Victoria Falls — “the smoke that thunders” — and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
“Our National Parks and safaris, which constitute about 70 percent of the total land area, are home to over 270 mammal species, 670 bird species, and 256 reptile species,” he said.
Traditional dances such as Mhande, Muchongoyo, and Amabhiza captivated the audience, and when the band struck up Jah Prayzah’s Kutonga Kwaro, President Mnangagwa himself took to the dance floor, drawing cheers and applause.
At the Zimbabwe Pavilion, long queues of curious visitors — many of them Japanese — testified to the country’s growing appeal.
The pavilion offered a high-tech, sensory journey across Zimbabwe’s provinces, featuring towering LED visuals of iconic landscapes, sounds of mbira and birdsong and virtual reality experiences of bungee-jumping at Victoria Falls or paragliding over the Eastern Highlands.
Commissioner-General of the Pavilion, Mr Allan Majuru, said Zimbabwe’s innovative approach had distinguished it from other African countries. “We decided to be different from other countries that are in the Type C pavilion, and there are about 80 of them,” he said.
“The whole idea was for us to have continuous change in content throughout the six months and this will enable us to capture new audience, even retained audience.
“The whole idea is for us to engage and make sure that people believe what we are saying.”
Mr Majuru said the pavilion includes curated content from all of the country’s 10 provinces, highlighting investment, culture and tourism stories unique to each region.
As of mid-July, Zimbabwe’s pavilion had already welcomed over 600 000 visitors — averaging between 3 000 and 7 000 a day —making it one of the most visited and talked-about at the Expo.
“Each province has a story to tell. So, we went through all the provinces to collect that content,” he said.
Some of the delegates who attended Zimbabwe’s National Day Celebrations at Osaka Expo 2025.
“We have done virtual reality sets so that people have got a person-to-person experience.
“On a quiet day, we get about 3 000 visitors in the pavilion.
On a busy day, it goes above 7 000.”
As Expo 2025 Osaka runs until October 13, Zimbabwe will continue to rotate its digital content, host live cultural performances, culinary showcases, and themed “Tourism Days” to maintain global interest.
For Zimbabwe, the Expo is a strategic tool to shape perceptions, attract investment and drive engagement with international partners.
The Government hopes that what was planted in Osaka will bloom into tourism, trade and investment deals, bringing it closer to its Vision 2030 goals.
If the excitement and interest on display in Osaka are any indication, Zimbabwe’s bold message of going “Beyond the Limits” is already taking root.
