Metropol –  From static catalogue to live culture calendar

Product: Innocode Calendar

Partners: VårtOslo, Akers Avis Groruddalen, Selbyggen

Background

VårtOslo, Akers Avis Groruddalen and Selbyggen are three local Oslo newspapers that have each built their own event calendar with Innocode. Metropol is VårtOslo’s calendar,  a nightlife and culture guide giving readers a practical overview of restaurants, events and what’s on in the city. Selbyggen and Akers Avis Groruddalen each run their own separate calendars, rooted in their respective local coverage areas.

For VårtOslo, Metropol represents a clear upgrade: from a static catalogue service,  where listings were added once and rarely updated, to a living calendar that stays current with what’s actually happening. With a commercial approach and increasing activity, it has attracted a growing number of local organizers who see the value in keeping their events visible and up to date.

The starting point was straightforward: local newspapers are well-placed to be the trusted source for local event information, but keeping a calendar current is time-consuming. The goal was to change that.

The challenge

Local event calendars tend to go stale. Keeping them up to date requires constant manual input,  from journalists or organizers, and few newsrooms have the capacity for that on top of everything else. At the same time, platforms like Facebook have filled the gap, pulling both reader attention and advertising revenue away from local media.

The newspapers needed a calendar that stayed current without becoming a maintenance burden.

The solution

Metropol is built on Innocode's technology for automated event collection. Using machine learning and AI harvesting, the calendar pulls event information from Facebook, venue websites and ticketing systems automatically,  without anyone at the newspaper having to update it manually.

Key feature:

• Automated collection of event data from organizers own calendar or Facebook events 

The project was developed iteratively, with a joint working group from the participating newspapers and Innocode shaping the solution based on real editorial needs.

The result

A culture calendar that stays current without manual effort — giving local newspapers a credible, locally rooted alternative to the big platforms. Readers get a reliable overview of what's happening. Organizers get visibility in a trusted local space. And the newsrooms hold on to their role as the hub for local cultural life.