The IMAGINE event, organized by the City of Tampere for the second time, is aimed at urban developers, companies, startups, and investors. This free event is open to everyone interested in the opportunities and impacts of smart technologies on cities. The event will take place at the Tampere Exhibition and Sports Center. The application for companies to showcase their innovations is open until the end of March.
– Through the IMAGINE events, Tampere positions itself as a bridge-builder between international citiverse development, cities, and companies. This creates opportunities for businesses both locally and on a broader scale. By leveraging new smart technologies and data, we can also enhance everyday life for both residents and businesses, says Executive Director of Economic Policy, Competitiveness and Innovation, Teppo Rantanen from the City of Tampere.
The term Citiverse comes from the European Union's English definition of citizen and metaverse. Citiverse is a virtual layer intertwined with urban space, aiming to streamline the lives of city residents, enable new experiences, and address city challenges. The event will particularly emphasize citiverse themes related to mobility, safety, citizen engagement and well-being, and environmental sustainability.
– The IMAGINE event strengthens Tampere’s vitality and international networks by offering new collaboration opportunities for companies. At the same time, we reinforce Tampere’s role in the development of virtual worlds and artificial intelligence, says Tampere's Deputy Mayor Jouni Markkanen.
The IMAGINE event, held for the first time in June 2025, attracted participants from 33 countries. Among the visitors was a joint delegation from Business Finland and Tampere from Los Angeles, who explored Tampere's smart mobility solutions.
– The visitor feedback we received last year was so positive that it’s great to organize the event again. This year, we are emphasizing the current challenges cities are facing. While these challenges come from different parts of the world, many of them are shared by cities regardless of their geographical location. Collaboration and learning together are at the heart of Tampere’s citiverse efforts, reflects Tiia Joki, Development Manager at the City of Tampere.
In addition to city challenge presentations, the event will feature talks from city representatives, partner companies, and startups on citiverse development. Content partners for the event include BABLE Smart Cities, Urban Innovators Global, Platform 6, and Business Tampere.
