The operator of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka will seek ideas from the public for the event’s logo, the organization’s secretary-general, Hiroyuki Ishige, said Thursday.

The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition will start soliciting ideas as early as September with a goal of finalizing the design around spring 2020, Ishige told a news conference in the city.

The public-private body will work on the concept and other details soon.

“I hope the venue, Yumeshima, will be a gateway for tourism and research centers in Kansai … and other parts of Japan,” Ishige added. Yumeshima is an artificial island in Osaka Bay.

It’s crucial to make the exposition entertaining for visitors, he said.

The news conference was Ishige’s first since he assumed the role in May. A former Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official, Ishige has also served as chairman of the Japan External Trade Organization.

The association will draw up basic guidelines for the expo around autumn next year. Ishige said he hopes to hire someone to be the top organizer of the expo by then.

The association plans to change its status to a public-interest entity to make it easier to receive donations.