Lisbon and Linköping win the 2023 European Capital of Innovation awards and what the prize actually does
- ›Lisbon is the 2023 European Capital of Innovation and Linköping is this year’s Rising Innovative City.
- ›Runners up in the main category were Warsaw and Lviv. Runners up in the Rising Innovative City category were Padova and Cork.
- ›The awards are run under the European Innovation Council and managed by EISMEA as part of Horizon Europe and combine visibility, networking and cash prizes.
- ›The prize rewards cities for experimenting, ecosystem building, scaling innovation and protecting citizens' rights but measurable long term impact is often harder to demonstrate than the ceremony suggests.
- ›The iCapital scheme includes two award tiers, monetary prizes, an alumni network and a formal jury assessment process involving external experts.
Lisbon and Linköping named European Capital of Innovation 2023
On 27 November 2023 the European Commission announced the winners of the 2023 European Capital of Innovation Awards, commonly known as iCapital. Lisbon (Portugal) won the European Capital of Innovation title and Linköping (Sweden) won the European Rising Innovative City award. The announcement included the designation of runners up in both categories and took place during a ceremony in Marseille hosted in the context of the Aix-Marseille Provence Métropole innovation week.
| Category | Winner | 1st Runner up | 2nd Runner up |
| European Capital of Innovation (cities with 250 000+ inhabitants) | Lisbon, Portugal | Warsaw, Poland | Lviv, Ukraine |
| European Rising Innovative City (50 000 to 249 999 inhabitants) | Linköping, Sweden | Padova, Italy | Cork, Ireland |
The ceremony and who attended
Prizes were awarded by Iliana Ivanova, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. The ceremony was held in Marseille and co-hosted by Aix-Marseille Provence Métropole, winner of iCapital 2022. Attendees included the mayors of the winning cities, members of the European Parliament, the Mayor of Haarlem which was the Rising Innovative City winner in 2022, and innovation stakeholders from France and several African countries. The event formed part of a wider innovation week that brought together discussions on energy, water, sustainable cities and the Emerging Valleys summit convening EU and African start ups and ecosystem actors.
What the iCapital award is and who runs it
The iCapital awards are funded and administered under Horizon Europe, the EU research and innovation framework. They are one of five prizes granted under the EIC strand of Horizon Europe. Management of the prize and the selection of winners is carried out by external independent juries and evaluators drawn from expert databases.
Money, categories and what winners get
The awards combine a cash prize with visibility, an invitation into a peer network and follow up support. They are aimed at promoting cities as places for experimentation and scaling innovation rather than direct project financing in itself.
| Category | Population range | Winner prize | Prizes for runners up |
| European Capital of Innovation | Minimum 250 000 inhabitants or the closest city in countries with no such city | EUR 1 000 000 | Two runners up EUR 100 000 each |
| European Rising Innovative City | 50 000 to 249 999 inhabitants | EUR 500 000 | Two runners up EUR 50 000 each |
Eligibility, how cities apply and the selection process
Cities from EU member states and countries associated to Horizon Europe can apply. A city may apply to only one category. Applications are evaluated against criteria designed to capture the city’s capacity to experiment, scale and share innovation, to strengthen local ecosystems and to protect citizens’ rights.
| Typical stages | What happens |
| Call opens | Cities submit applications and supporting documents |
| Remote assessment | Independent experts evaluate proposals against the award criteria |
| Interviews / pitching | Shortlisted cities may present to a jury in person or online |
| Final jury decision | Awardees selected and publicly announced |
Award criteria in practice
The jury assesses applications against six headline criteria that combine technical practice with social goals. These are meant to favour cities that act as test beds while mainstreaming successful approaches, help local start ups and SMEs scale, build broad local innovation ecosystems, share tested solutions with other cities, set out a clear long term innovative vision and protect citizens’ rights.
| Criterion | Focus |
| Experimenting | Test beds, pilots, experimentation and embedding successful pilots into ordinary urban processes |
| Escalating | Accelerating local startups, attracting investment and innovation friendly regulation |
| Ecosystem building | Fostering collaboration across public sector, academia, industry, start ups and civil society |
| Expanding | Replication, mutual learning and helping other cities adopt proven solutions |
| City innovative vision | Long term strategic plan supporting green and digital transitions |
| Citizens’ rights | Using innovation to strengthen democracy, social inclusion and protect minorities and rights |
Practical elements mentioned in the official materials
The official materials and application procedures reference administrative details used across Horizon Europe activities. These include the need for EU Login credentials, a Participant Identification Code, use of the Funding and Tenders Portal for applications, and the potential sharing of application material with national or regional support structures such as National Contact Points, Enterprise Europe Network partners and managing authorities for structural funds, subject to applicant consent.
Winners and past editions
The iCapital prize started in 2014. Past winners of the main European Capital of Innovation title include Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, Athens, Nantes, Leuven, Dortmund, Aix-Marseille Provence Métropole and Turin and Lisbon in 2023. Rising Innovative City winners in previous years include Vantaa, Haarlem and Linköping. The prize has been run continuously under the EIC umbrella within Horizon Europe and its predecessor programmes.
What the award delivers and what it does not
The prize provides financial reward, media visibility, and formal access to the iCapital alumni network. That can be useful as a lever for local policy makers to attract attention, partners and further investment. However the monetary component is modest in relation to municipal budgets and to the capital needs of scaling companies. The true test of the award’s value is whether cities translate the recognition into sustained policy changes, new procurement practices, measurable increases in start up creation or scale up success, or durable improvements in inclusion and public services. These are outcomes that require monitoring over several years.
A cautious observer should note that awards and summits generate headlines and make for effective PR. They do not automatically guarantee systemic change. The selection criteria rightly stress replicability, citizens’ rights and ecosystem building, but whether winning cities can operationalise those ambitions depends on local governance, budgets and political continuity. Independent evaluations or transparent KPI reporting would help to move the conversation from ceremony to impact.
Recent and upcoming rounds and related EIC activity
At the time of the 2023 awards the competition is part of the wider EIC portfolio which includes Pathfinder, Transition, Accelerator and the EIC Fund. The EIC and EISMEA publish annual work programmes and call deadlines. For example the EIC 2026 work programme opened funding opportunities across many technology areas. The call for the 2026 iCapital edition closed in June 2025 and the 2026 winners were later announced in December 2025.
Contacts and further reading
Press contacts listed in the original announcement included the European Commission press service. For detailed rules, eligibility and the full work programme applicants are referred to the EIC and EISMEA webpages, the iCapital rules of contest and the EIC Work Programme section of the Funding and Tenders Portal. The award is managed operationally by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency and supported under Horizon Europe.
Press contacts identified in the iCapital 2023 materials
Johannes Bahrke, Spokesperson, European Commission. Roberta Verbanac, Press Officer. Media were invited to use the Press corner for downloads, statements and further information.
Quick glossary of terms used in the iCapital process
Final note from a policy perspective
Recognition programmes like iCapital play a role in spotlighting civic innovation and encouraging knowledge exchange across cities. They are, however, one tool among many in the EU innovation toolkit. If the Commission and local authorities want to convert awards into durable results they will need to publish clear impact indicators, enable access to follow up support that goes beyond publicity, and align prize incentives with longer term funding and procurement levers. Observers and journalists should track whether winners publish post-award progress reports on outcomes such as start up growth, job creation, procurement of innovative solutions, and improvements in service accessibility for vulnerable groups.