Expo 2005 opens in Aichi, Japan

March 25, 2005 The 2005 World Exposition opened today in Aichi, Japan. The fair, which runs until 25 September 2005, is expected to draw over 15 million visitors from across the globe. 121 countries will take part in what is expected to be a 135 billion yen event.

The first Expo - the Great Exhibition - was held in 1851 in London. The event had always been held in either Europe or North America, until in 1970, it was held in Osaka, Japan.

One of the major attractions at this year's Expo is the skull of an 18,000-year-old woolly mammoth.