With more than two thirds of Europe’s population living in urban areas, the European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards aim to recognise the environmental achievements of cities and towns that strive for urban sustainability and eco-innovation, and inspire others to take positive action in making their cities fit for life.
Winning the European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards is a seal of approval by the European Commission and brings many benefits: increased international media coverage, a boost in local pride, a greater focus on environmental projects, and increased foreign investment. All finalist and winning cities also gain access to a network of previous finalists and winning cities where they share learnings on how to overcome key challenges.
The new cycle of European green city awards has seen 30 cities from across Europe competing to become Europe’s next European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Award winners. 16 cities from 12 countries have applied for the European Green Capital 2023 (EGCA 2023) competition, while 14 cities from eight countries have entered the European Green Leaf 2022 (EGLA 2022) competition. The winners will receive a combined financial prize fund of one million EUR.
The four finalists for the Green Capital 2023 are:
- Helsingborg - Sweden
- Krakow - Poland
- Sofia - Bulgaria
- Tallin - Estonia
The six finalists for the Green Leaf 2022 are:
- Bistrita - Bulgaria
- Elsinore - Denmark
- Gavà - Spain
- Treviso- Italy
- Valongo - Portugal
- Winterswijk - The Netherlands
The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony taking place on 9 September 2021 at 17:30 CET in hybrid format, with a live stream from the city of Lahti, Finland, which is the European Green Capital for 2021.
Commissioner Sinkevičius will join the event virtually to announce the winners and DG ENV DDG Joanna Drake will be on site to hand over the trophies.
You can follow the event here. For more information visit the website here.