Four speeches were given. The following took the floor:

• Kaspar Villiger, President of the Swiss Confederation
• Francis Matthey, President of the General Assembly of Expo.02
• Franz Steinegger, President of the Expo.02 Steering Committee
• Nelly Wenger, President of the General Management of Expo.02

The opening ceremony included artistic intermezzi, including extracts from the opening spectacle, which was to begin a few hours later.