awarding the best in immersive entertainment
AUREA#8 - 2-4 February 2026
10 of the best XR projects
an all star jury
3 days in a magical location
awarded at Europa-Park, the home for XR pioneers
AUREA Award #8 Recap:
Through the Looking Glass—Where Layered Realities Unfold
From live pitches to immersive experiences, revisit the moments and connections that shaped AUREA Award #8.
Keiichi Matsuda, Director, Liquid City
“I went to the AUREA Awards, held at Europa-Park, an enormous theme park in Germany. I was invited to give a keynote speech on the theme of ‘through the looking glass’. I thought that I could show everyone a new way of thinking about technology and interaction, but in the end it was me that felt like Alice, emerging into a creative technology wonderland”
Michael Libby, Founder & CEO, Worldbuildr
“True disruptive change is not easy. As a startup founder who has lost count of the number of pitches I've given that have fallen on deaf ears, here I found a community that just GOT IT. In the experiential industry, stagnation is a death sentence, and innovation is oxygen.”
Andy van den Broeck, CEO, RealityMatters
“Had an incredible time at Aurea! It was definitely a highlight for me. Between the diverse crowd and the wealth of new insights, it was the perfect mix of learning and great conversation. I am already counting down to the next one.”
Previous Jurors
Cathy Hackl
Founder & Chief Metaverse Officer, Journey
Metaverse/ web3 strategist, tech futurist, author of Into The Metaverse
Athena Demos
BRCvr
CEO/Co-founder/Producer at Big Rock Creative (BRCvr), AUREA#3 winner
Emily Olman
Hopscotch Interactive
XR Builder and AUREA Community Ambassador
Nils Wollney
Holoride
CEO & Co-founder, Holoride, AUREA#2 winner
Kathleen Cohen
XR Immersive Strategist, The Collaboratorium
Jury Chair, keynote speaker
Frédéric Lecompte
Backlight
Co-founder of BackLight [Immersive experiences for Brands, Culture & Entertainment]
