City Festival “Bunte Nacht der Digitalisierung”
Hot, hotter, Colorful Night of Digitalization…
The Colourful Night of Digitalization at a glance!
This handy web app helped visitors find their way around the “Colorful Night of Digitalization.”
Feel free to take another look at the more than 200 program items offered by our 50 partners at 18 locations!
Experience the digital hub up close!
Experience digitalization in all its facets in a city festival of digital ideas and solutions:
On which digital topics are Karlsruhe universities and research institutions actively researching? What constitutes digital art? How digital are the administration and cultural institutions? What ideas are Karlsruhe start-ups and companies pursuing? And how can you experiment within NGOs with digital tools or get involved in those organisations?
A Look Back at the Program
Joint opening
The “Colorful Night of Digitalization” began at 2:00 p.m. at TRIANGEL on Kronenplatz. The event is held under the patronage of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior, Digitalization, and European Affairs and was opened with a welcome address and remarks by Ronja Kemmer, Director General and Chief Digital Officer of the state government. Following this, the chairs of the karlsruhe.digital initiative engaged in a panel discussion on current challenges and prospects for digital sovereignty, ranging from resilient digital infrastructures to artificial intelligence and data sovereignty, and Europe’s capacity for technological action. The event also highlighted Karlsruhe’s role as a center of excellence for digital sovereignty.
Decentralized program
Starting at 3 p.m., the partners of the “Colorful Night of Digitalization” showcased their digital highlights at numerous hotspots. Visitors were able to experience the unique ecosystem of Karlsruhe, a hub of digital innovation. Numerous partners from government, business, and academia opened their doors and presented all facets of digitalization in Karlsruhe through specially designed programs. On the grounds of the Alter Schlachthof, the Games Track offered a unique glimpse into Baden-Württemberg’s vibrant gaming industry for the first time this year. Until 9 p.m., hands-on workshops, drone courses, exhibitions, guided tours, and many other activities captivated visitors at the various digital hotspots. There was something for every age group and level of knowledge.
Joint closing
Starting at 10 p.m., everyone celebrated together after an eventful day: At FUX on the site of the Old Slaughterhouse, on the beautiful rooftop terrace, the night came to a lively close with refreshing drinks and good conversation.
#DigitalNightKA – Our partners
We would like to thank our sponsors
We would like to thank our mobility partners
We would like to thank our patron
Things to know about the
Colourful Night of Digitalization
The most frequently asked questions from our event partners: Please feel free to contact us if you may have any further questions.
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All companies, institutions, associations and offices from Karlsruhe.
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The registration deadline is April 30, 2026. Please get in touch with us if you missed the deadline, as we will have already started the organisation and advertising. We will find a solution!
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Participation is free of charge for initiatives, cultural institutions, the city administration, universities and scientific institutions as well as non-profit organizations. Participation costs €1,500 for companies. We use the contributions for event management, organization of mobility, marketing and communication.
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The contributions are being used for event management, mobility organisation, marketing and communication.
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karlsruhe.digital is implementing a comprehensive marketing and PR campaign.
This includes an extensive out-of-home campaign with billboards, city lights, banners, mobile billboards, public video station spots at the train station, market square and Durlacher Tor, the Röser media wall and much more.
The outdoor advertising will be supplemented by social media and online campaigns with teaser videos, editorial articles, online ads and the like under the event hashtag #DigitaleNachtKA.
In order to reach people who are not exclusively digital, a special supplement for the Colourful Night of Digitalization will be published in the Badische Neuste Nachrichten. Including a deeper insight into selected events and a complete overview of the event partners.Our progressive web app will display the entire program interactively. Visitors will have the opportunity to create individual tours and can sort and filter according to organizations, topics and much more.
We need you to make your event a complete success!
The karlsruhe.digital initiative is doing it’s best to promote the event in general. With over 280 program items, however, it is impossible to announce them all individually.
That’s why we at karlsruhe.digital need your cooperation!
However, visitors are most likely to find their way to you if you direct their curiosity towards your special program. Use your platforms to present yourself and your program. Post in advance under the common hashtag #DigitaleNachtKA and show what visitors can expect from your event. Link the channels of karlsruhe.digital so that we can share your individual contributions. Do you have a blog post or your own landing page for your program? Then send us the relevant links and content. Don’t forget to address your network via your personal newsletter. Look for other institutions or organizations with which you can advertise together. With our media kit, we are happy to provide you with banners for emails, social media or online advertising that you can customize. You will also receive poster templates as well as text and image material. -
Yes, all partners receive a digital package with online banners in various formats, poster templates and image and text material. In addition, karlsruhe.digital provides partner branding material for on-site use. Reusable packages (including beach flags and banners) are optionally available for a fee.
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You can easily maintain your program independently and at any time in our app. You will receive a corresponding message when the app is activated and will also receive all information on how to use it.
Please note, however, that we need a brief description of your program by April 30 for marketing purposes.
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In general, you are free to design your own program. The topic of digitalization should of course be addressed – be it generally through your products, services or research areas, or, for example, through digital exhibition elements, as well as lectures and workshops on the topic.
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Our progressive web app is expected to display the entire program interactively from mid-May.
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The opening will take place on Friday, June 19, 2026 at 2 pm with a central kick-off event.
From 3 pm, the participating Karlsruhe companies, universities, research institutions and cultural institutions as well as municipal offices and companies will open their doors throughout the city and offer a varied and eventful program.
At the end, all guests are invited to end the #DigitaleNachtKA from 10 pm at the joint closing party.
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The central exhibitor areas offer you the opportunity to present your institution. However, they are mainly intended for initiatives, cultural institutions, universities, scientific institutions, non-profit organizations or companies that do not have suitable premises of their own or that are not allowed to make their premises accessible to the public for legal reasons.
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Contact and further
information
Please feel free to contact us via e-mail for further information
What the Colourful Night of Digitalization 2024 was like
In figures
over 60
Partner
260
Program points
6
Sponsors, mobility and technology partners, patronage of the Ministry of the Interior, Digitalization and Communities
free of charge
Public transport and KVV.nextbike
Progressive WebApp
put together an individual program and use it online & offline!
VideoReview
Program
Joint opening
The Colourful Night of Digitalization kicked off at 2 p.m. at TRIANGEL on Kronenplatz with a welcoming address by Stefan Krebs, the State Government Commissioner for Information Technology and CIO and CDO of the State of Baden-Württemberg. This was followed by a talk format about the digital location from the perspectives of science, business and administration with the chairmen of the karlsruhe.digital initiative. Visitors also experienced extraordinary media art on and around Kronenplatz as part of the Colourful Night of Digitalization until 11 pm. The UNESCO City of Media Arts programme was also part of the evening: The UNESCO City of Media Arts programme at the Colourful Night of Digitalization.
Decentralized program
From 3 p.m., the partners of the Colourful Night of Digitalization presented their digitalization highlights at numerous hotspots. Visitors were able to experience the unique ecosystem of the digital stronghold Karlsruhe: 60 partners from administration, business and science opened their doors and presented digitization in Karlsruhe in all its facets with specially designed programs. Participatory workshops, drone courses, exhibitions, guided tours and many other formats at the various hotspots of digitalization were held until 9 pm. There was something for every age and every level of knowledge.
Joint closing
After an eventful day, the party started at 10 pm: At TRIANGEL on Kronenplatz, the night came to an atmospheric end with refreshing drinks and good conversation. The Karlsruhe DJ duo Frische Ernte provided the perfect sound. Their beats ranged from house to melodic to techno and invited guests to dance until late into the night.
