After more than thirty years, Velo-city returns to Italy, to Rimini. The spotlight is on cycling and its potential to create more liveable cities. Here is our account.
"People first" is the message delivered by the latest edition of Velo-city, the world cycling conference hosted in Rimini from 16 to 19 June. An important event promoted by the European Cyclists' Federation in collaboration with Fiab-Federazione italiana ambiente e bicicletta, which drew strong international participation, with 1,600 delegates and 400 speakers from more than 60 countries.
Together they discussed active mobility and cycle tourism, sharing best practices, research and strategies to be deployed for a green transition, with the awareness that when it comes to active mobility, multiple issues intersect — from urban planning to gender equality. Velo-city was a precious opportunity to hear testimonies from around the world, from the United States to Uganda, from the Netherlands to Japan. A moment of learning for those working in advocacy, for administrations, policymakers, academia and industry players.
The notable absentee at the conference was the Italian government, both on stage and in the audience. As Susanna Maggioni, vice-president of Fiab and one of the event's organisers, points out: "Bringing Velo-city back to Italy after more than thirty years was a great achievement for Fiab, but also a mirror of the challenges our country still needs to face. Ministers from across Europe and beyond were present in Rimini, yet Italian government representation was nowhere to be seen. We continue to build change from the grassroots level, alongside the many municipalities and regions that are investing boldly in cycling mobility. Our ambition is that these experiences can increasingly help shape national policy as well."
"Delivering the urban dream" is the title of the Velo-city 2026 edition. The direction is clear: building more liveable, greener and more inclusive cities. How? Through urban design that places people at the centre (rather than cars), by implementing cycling infrastructure and multimodal transport systems, by encouraging active tourism and actions aimed at public health and inclusion. From the picture that emerged during the conference, it is evident that cities — even those located at very different points on the globe — often evolve while facing similar challenges and obstacles.
Many forms of resistance have been encountered even in contexts we now hold up as models. Take Bruxelles, which, when introducing a 30 km/h speed limit, first invested in a communications campaign to announce the changes coming (from 2021) and to explain that the speed reduction is not only about safety, but also about reducing noise and improving quality of life. On this point, Simona Larghetti joined the discussion with a contribution on behalf of the Metropolitan City of Bologna, reaffirming that "the 30 km/h City is a civic measure: it places the value of people's lives above everything else."
Let us start with some interesting figures: cycle tourism generates more than 44 billion euros a year in Europe. According to the Council of the European Union, tourism contributes around 7 per cent of the EU economy and supports 4.6 million businesses. Against this backdrop, the EuroVelo cycle route network reports growing numbers: in 2025, cycling traffic recorded along its routes increased by 4 per cent compared to 2024.
Roberta Frisoni, regional councillor for tourism, commerce and sport of the Emilia-Romagna region, observed how cycling-related services in her region have encouraged visitors to venture beyond the seafront and discover the hinterland. Similarly, Giuseppe Grezzi, councillor of the City of Valencia and former councillor for sustainable mobility and public space, speaking about the Spanish city's transformation, explained that sustainable tourism cannot be separated from residents' quality of life.
It comes as no surprise that intermodality was a recurring theme in this debate. Speakers repeatedly stressed that bicycles and trains represent the winning combination. Vanessa Pérez, senior consultant at the International Union of Railways, explained how the sector has evolved "from avoiding bikes to seeing them as an opportunity."
A striking example came from Tokihiro Nakamura, governor of the prefecture of Ehime, in Japan. Here we find Shimanami Kaido, a cycling route of approximately 70 kilometres that crosses the Seto Inland Sea, connecting six islands via a spectacular series of suspension bridges. It is one of the most celebrated cycle tourism destinations in the world, recording a 50-fold increase in bicycle rentals by international users and a 122.8 per cent year-on-year growth in tourist overnight stays. And it will be the city of Matsuyama in the Ehime region that will host the next edition of Velo-city in 2027.
Oslo was awarded the "Cycling improvement award", the prize for cycling development. The city has in fact gone, over the course of roughly a decade, from being dominated by cars to becoming bike-friendly. "Politicians had the will and the courage to change and we started building. So we spent the next ten years creating the cycling network," recounted Aslak Heggland, Project Manager for the City of Oslo. Driven by strong political will, infrastructure improvements led over time to an exemplary cultural shift.
The prize for road safety goes to Helsinki. In 2025, the city attracted international attention for an unprecedented achievement: zero road fatalities over a 12-month period. The figure was reported in July 2025, but the milestone continues to fuel debate about how other cities might replicate it. The reduction of speed limits is considered the single most important factor: today more than 50 per cent of roads have a 30 km/h limit, down from the previous 50 km/h.
This measure is part of a broader strategy that prioritises the safety of children and people travelling on foot or by bike, influencing smarter junction design, safer pedestrian crossings and more effective traffic controls. Helsinki demonstrates that fatal collisions and serious road injuries can be entirely prevented.
The city of Rimini received the prize for cycling infrastructure, earned through the Parco del Mare inaugurated in 2020. A project that extends along 15 kilometres of coastline with a pedestrian promenade, outdoor gyms, play areas and cycle paths.
The reclaiming of urban space taken back from cars and the design of corridors conceived for people have thus transformed not only mobility, but also the health and sustainability of an entire city. "This is an award that recognises twenty years of our work here in Rimini. I believe that thanks to this infrastructure, Rimini is today, and will be in the future, even more welcoming than it has ever been," declared Valentina Ridolfi, councillor for urban planning at the Comune di Rimini.
What emerges from Velo-city is therefore an Italy travelling at two speeds. On one side there is the drive coming from individual municipalities and regions, from academia, from sector experts, from businesses, from local administrations and not least from associations — which in these very days are announcing the launch of Rime, Rete italiana mobilità equa, bringing together for the first time organisations working on safety, active mobility and transport, with the goal of strengthening the Vision Zero agenda and the democratisation of public space.
On the other side there is the national government, which struggles to grasp the relevance of these issues and the scale of this transformation, by "missing" an event like Velo-city. An absence that weighs heavily both at the international level and in the face of the tragic news reaching us in Rimini — yet more victims of road violence. While the experiences brought from around the world demonstrate that change is possible, we are left wondering whether and when putting people first will also become a priority for our own policymakers.