Ten years of iCapital: the six finalists competing for Europe’s urban innovation prize
- ›The European Commission named six finalists for the 10th European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital) on 20 September 2024.
- ›Three cities compete in the European Capital of Innovation category and three in the Rising Innovative City category.
- ›Winners will be announced at the Web Summit in Lisbon on 13 November 2024 with prizes ranging from €50 000 to €1 000 000.
- ›The award is managed by the European Innovation Council and EISMEA under Horizon Europe and includes entry to an alumni network for finalists.
- ›The prize recognises city-led experimentation, ecosystem building and scaling but its impact depends on follow-through, measurement and local governance.
Ten years of iCapital: the six finalists competing for Europe’s urban innovation prize
On 20 September 2024 the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) announced the six finalists in the 10th edition of the European Capital of Innovation Awards, commonly referred to as iCapital. The prize honours cities that position innovation at the core of urban policy and practice with a focus on sustainability, inclusion and resilience. This year marks a decade since the award’s launch in 2014.
Who made the final list
The competition is split into two categories. The European Capital of Innovation category targets larger cities and city regions. The European Rising Innovative City category targets smaller cities that are scaling their local innovation ecosystems. The six finalists were selected after interviews with a wider pool of semi-finalists and assessment by a high level jury from academia, business and policy.
| City | Country | Category | Key focus highlighted in application |
| Espoo | Finland | European Capital of Innovation | Collaboration, trust and a 'city-as-a-service' model with strengths in cleantech, health tech and digitalisation |
| Turin | Italy | European Capital of Innovation | Living labs and large-scale testbeds across smart mobility, circular economy and space economy through Torino City Lab |
| West Midlands | United Kingdom | European Capital of Innovation | Metropolitan testbeds in urban renewal, 5G tech and mobility with cluster organisations and thousands of start-ups supported |
| Braga | Portugal | European Rising Innovative City | Start-up incubators, InvestBraga and Startup Braga programs, emphasis on sustainable development and social impact |
| Linz | Austria | European Rising Innovative City | Intersections of art, technology and society led by Ars Electronica Futurelab and the LIT Open Innovation Center |
| Oulu | Finland | European Rising Innovative City | Open innovation culture blending technology and nature, multi-generational co-creation and experimentation toward 2030 |
Finalist profiles and what they pitched
Process, criteria and the jury
Selection for iCapital involves a written application, interviews with semi-finalist cities and a final assessment by a high level jury made up of academics, business leaders and policy experts. For 2024 the jury assessed twelve semi-finalists in private hearings before choosing six finalists.
Prizes, timeline and what winners receive
The final winners will be announced on 13 November 2024 at the Web Summit in Lisbon during an award ceremony. Monetary prizes are awarded in both categories and finalists are invited to join the EIC Prizes Alumni Network.
| Category | Winner funding | Runners-up funding (each) |
| European Capital of Innovation | €1 000 000 | €100 000 |
| European Rising Innovative City | €500 000 | €50 000 |
All six finalists are invited to the European Innovation Council Forum working group known as the EIC Prizes Alumni Network. That network is presented as a peer community to exchange practices, encourage mutual learning and scale promising city innovations across Europe.
What the award is likely to deliver and its limits
iCapital gives cities visibility, a nominal cash prize and an access channel into EU innovation networks. Those are real benefits. Evidence of long term impact depends on how the prize money is invested, on local governance and on measurable follow‑through of pilots into mainstream policy. Prize publicity does not by itself fix deep structural problems such as fragmented procurement rules, short political cycles or constrained public budgets.
A measured view is necessary. Cities naturally emphasise successful pilots, partnerships and events in their applications. Independent verification of claims about citizen impact is uneven across local reports. For EU policymakers and practitioners, the useful outcomes of iCapital will be concrete replication pathways, transparent metrics and open data to let other cities assess what is transferable.
Context: EIC, Horizon Europe and the iCapital legacy
iCapital is one of the European Innovation Council prizes delivered under Horizon Europe and managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). The award has run since 2014 and aims to highlight cities that act as living labs and testbeds for people-centred innovation. The prize is both symbolic and practical as it aims to accelerate dissemination of urban solutions across the EU.
| Year | European Capital of Innovation winner |
| 2014 | Barcelona |
| 2016 | Amsterdam |
| 2017 | Paris |
| 2018 | Athens |
| 2019 | Nantes |
| 2020 | Leuven |
| 2021 | Dortmund |
| 2022 | Aix-Marseille Provence Metropole |
| 2023 | Lisbon |
| 2024 | Turin (named at Web Summit as 2024 winner; Turin was among the finalists in the 2024 selection round) |
Explainer: key terms and mechanisms
Practical next steps and contacts
The winners will be announced at Web Summit in Lisbon on 13 November 2024. Cities that want to follow or participate in iCapital activities can consult the EIC website and the EISMEA contact address listed below. Finalists will join the EIC Prizes Alumni Network to share practices and learning.
Contact for the European Capital of Innovation Awards: EISMEA-ICAPITAL@ec.europa.eu
A closing caution
The iCapital awards highlight promising local approaches to complex urban challenges. That visibility helps spread ideas. Cities and funders should not treat the award as proof of durable impact. The next test will be whether the winning cities can convert pilots into inclusive public services, publish transparent metrics and enable other cities to reproduce what works at reasonable cost.