As we look back on 2024, we do so with pride for all the positive developments in Kista. It’s been a year full of exciting launches, events, and collaborations. Kista Innovation Park has come alive like never before with many new visitors for dining, boules and afterwork. Fantastic works of art have been erected on Kista’s façades, while behind them, new exciting innovations have taken shape. The area has bustled with lunch runners several times a week and new park areas including an outdoor gym have attracted many visitors. Housing construction has picked up speed and the first new residents have already moved in. Now, Kista shines brighter than ever thanks to a unique collaboration with sparkling seasonal lights stretching all the way from Kistamässan to Jan Stenbecks Torg. The future is bright for Kista as we now look forward to 2025.
Kista Innovation Park has had a fantastic year, marked by many positive news and events. One of the most exciting highlights has been the food scene, with three new restaurants opening, creating a more vibrant and diverse dining experience. First up was CGS Streetfood with tasty burgers, closely followed by Bollywood Bites, offering Indian flavours prepared with locally sourced ingredients.
Sustainaboule, one of the new restaurants, has already made a significant impact. With their unique zero-waste concept, they have already saved two tons of food from a local ICA store and quickly become popular with both those who work in the area and visitors. It's not just the food that draws people in, Sustainaboule has become a social hub with afterwork and boules, while also raising awareness about food waste and sustainability through their daily work.
All three restaurants have contributed in different ways to making the area more dynamic and attractive for visitors and those who work here. In addition, several of our food trucks have moved into their own premises in Kista, and Sustainaboule has found a winter hideaway where they serve plant-based “Julbord”. In total, we have welcomed 2,000 dining guests every month!
Kista Innovation Park has also been a hub for innovation and community through several major events during the year. Ericsson has been particularly active, hosting twelve public events that have attracted large numbers of participants from both the business world and the local community. Two of the most popular events were Plogging and Lego workshops.
Plogging, a combination of jogging and picking up litter, became one of the most appreciated, allowing participants to exercise while contributing to a cleaner environment in and around Kista Innovation Park. Hundreds of people took part, and the event helped to strengthen the sense of community in the area while highlighting environmental issues. Another highlight was the Lego workshops aimed at children of all ages during the school holidays. Hundreds of children took part in building challenges that tested their creativity and teamwork, making it both educational and fun. This created an inspiring and family-friendly atmosphere in the park and showed the importance of involving the next generation in the world of technology.
We run Kista has organized 56 fun running sessions around Kista with professional coaches every Monday and Wednesday lunchtime since the end of March! Everyone was welcome, from power walkers to marathon runners, and the sessions became so popular (with 2,000 participants) that they were extended into November. During a trial period, we also tested the outdoor OMNI-gym, and to top it off, we were visited by Lidingö Guns n' Buckets who brought 3x3 street basketball, where the teams face each other 3 on 3, to Kista Innovation Park during our street party in September! Our friends at House of Music enhanced the party and many other of our events with performances by local artists and top DJs. We also thank Global House who have been tending the garden and maintaining the park.
During the summer, a magnificent new mural, Firefly, was created, challenging the boundaries between art, humanity and technology. The mural, which was created through a collaboration between AI and Kollektivet Livet, was realised by the renowned Swedish artist "Sagie" and now stands vibrantly visible across much of Kistagången and Grönlandsparken. Kista Entré has also received two new artworks that add life and harmonise with the existing artwork of a beetle. The artworks have been erected by Graffitisthlm.
Looking ahead to 2025, we are excited about the upcoming year. We’ve just signed a contract with the Centrum för AMP (an idea-based non-profit organisation), for site activation at Jan Stenbecks torg starting early next year. Stay tuned for updates, as more information will be coming soon. We’ve also seen new residents move into the new homes in Kista Äng and the, starting signal has been given for Kista Square Garden and the eco-certified transformation of Ericsson’s old office building, GSM-borgen.
Right now, we are in the most intense period of the year, with a successful and unique collaboration with the City of Stockholm, which has illuminated all of Kista with magical seasonal lights! Make sure to visit Kista and experience how the glittering lights bring the district to life.
After a year filled with numerous highlights, we wish everyone a well-deserved holiday break to recharge for an exciting 2025!
