Osaka reacted with cautious optimism as Paris moved closer to officially withdrawing its bid to host the 2025 World Expo, leaving only Osaka, Azerbaijan's Baku and Russia's Ekaterinburg in a three-way race to be decided in November by the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).
The decision comes as a relief to Osaka, which saw Paris as its main rival. But attention is now turning to how the Osaka-Kansai, Japan bid — as it's officially known — can wage an effective international lobbying campaign against the two remaining candidates.
The French government's decision was reported in the form of a letter from French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe to the organizers published in France on Sunday. It was denounced by Jean-Christophe Fromantin, head of the Expo France 2025 committee in a tweet, where he said cost concerns originally led the bid committee to seek private support.