Tampere advances to semifinals in the European Capital of Innovation Awards

In June, Tampere submitted its application for the  European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital) competition in the main category for cities with over 250,000 inhabitants. On August 28, 2024, the European Commission announced the cities advancing in the competition, including Tampere. Alongside Tampere, the main category includes Bristol, Espoo, Tallinn, Turin, and the West Midlands Combined Authority in the United Kingdom.

The competition seeks to find a European city that has best supported new innovations and served as a model for other cities. Recent winners include Lisbon, the Aix-Marseille Provence Metropole, Barcelona, Dortmund, Leuven, Nantes, Athens, Paris, and Amsterdam.

Tampere’s strengths in the competition are its sustainable urban development and the use of the metaverse for the benefit of residents and businesses. Success in the competition could bring opportunities for local businesses and result in even smoother services for residents.

The main prize of the competition is one million euros, with two runner-up cities receiving 100,000 euros each. The competition evaluates cities based on their achievements in trials, collaborative networks, scalability of smart solutions, and future visions.

Tampere Leads the Way in Utilizing the Metaverse

– Being selected among the top six cities is fantastic news. We wouldn’t have entered this competition if we didn’t genuinely believe in our chances of winning. Tampere is daring to lead the way in utilizing the metaverse in areas yet to be explored. We already have implemented innovative solutions, technological platforms, expertise, and a desire to advance, says Teppo Rantanen, Director at the City of Tampere.

Examples of innovative solutions highlighted in Tampere’s application include the Tampere Pulse app, which predicts visitor flows in the city center, the SURE program developing smart event safety solutions, lighting solutions utilizing smart technology, and sensor systems that assist with road maintenance. Many of these examples are based on the city’s IoT platform, or shared data center.

Additionally, the application showcases the x-CITE project, which is developing the European CitiVerse and aims to utilize XR (extended reality) solutions to create experiences at venues like Nokia Arena.

Sustainability, social diversity, and equality are also key aspects of Tampere’s message in the European competition. The application mentions the Tampere Junior development program, which collected data from Tampere's families with children to better tailor services to family needs.