Who made the cut for iCapital 2026 and what the prize actually means
- ›The European Commission named six finalists for the 2026 European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital): three in the European Capital of Innovation category and three in the Rising Innovative City category.
- ›Finalists in the main category are Grenoble Alpes Métropole, Liverpool and Rotterdam. Rising Innovative City finalists are Aalborg, Nicosia and San Sebastian.
- ›Winners will be announced at the Cities Innovate Summit in Turin on 4 December 2025 and prizes range from €50 000 to €1 000 000.
- ›All six finalists are invited into the EIC Prizes Alumni Network to participate in knowledge sharing with previous winners and finalists.
- ›The awards are managed by EISMEA under the European Innovation Council and Horizon Europe, but questions remain about how impact is measured and how smaller, less resourced places benefit in the long run.
iCapital 2026 finalists: what was announced and what to watch
On 14 October 2025 the European Commission published the shortlist of finalists for the 2026 European Capital of Innovation Awards, commonly known as iCapital. The prize, managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency and funded under Horizon Europe, recognises cities that act as test beds for innovation and that use innovation to pursue greener, fairer and more resilient urban development. The announcement follows interviews with semi-finalist cities and a selection by a high-level jury of innovation leaders from academia, business and policy.
Who made the shortlist
Six cities reached the final stage after a rigorous selection process. The commissions public statement gives short descriptions of each finalist’s priorities and strengths. These entries reflect different models of place-based innovation from integrated sustainability plans to cultural and social regeneration paired with technology piloting.
| Category | Finalists (alphabetical) | Short rationale from the Commission |
| European Capital of Innovation | Grenoble Alpes Métropole (France) | Recognised for strategic, comprehensive innovation aimed at environmental sustainability, waste reduction, climate resilience and soil health integration. |
| European Capital of Innovation | Liverpool (United Kingdom) | Highlighted for cultural regeneration tied to technology and community engagement driving inclusive growth and a strong creative-innovation blend. |
| European Capital of Innovation | Rotterdam (Netherlands) | Noted for innovative urban design, smart mobility, circular economy initiatives and active city-to-city cooperation. |
| European Rising Innovative City | Aalborg (Denmark) | Profiles community-centric, sustainable solutions aligned to the Smart Specialisation Strategy and the European Green Deal, with emphasis on civic diplomacy and democratic innovation. |
| European Rising Innovative City | Nicosia (Cyprus) | Aims to transform a historically divided capital through spatial planning, digital governance and cultural regeneration to increase resilience and social cohesion. |
| European Rising Innovative City | San Sebastian (Spain) | Emphasises green construction, digital strategies, talent retention and a transition to a knowledge-intensive local economy. |
Timeline, prizes and follow-up
The award ceremony will be held at the Cities Innovate Summit in Turin on 4 December 2025. The prize structure for the competition is significant in headline terms. The European Capital of Innovation winner receives €1 000 000 with two runners-up at €100 000 each. The European Rising Innovative City winner receives €500 000 and two runners-up €50 000 each. Finalists also gain an invitation to the EIC Forum working group known as the EIC Prizes Alumni Network.
How cities got to this point
The selection combined written submissions, interviews with semi-finalists and assessments by independent juries. The call is open to cities in EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries and has separate eligibility thresholds for the two categories based on population. The prize portfolio is one of several EIC Prizes and sits under the broader Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.
Context and critical considerations
Prizes such as iCapital deliver visibility and discretionary funding that can accelerate projects. They also create reputational value that can be mobilised to attract private investment or European funds. That said, the public announcements tend to foreground ambition and selected projects rather than independent evidence of long-term impact. Key issues to watch include how cities will measure outcomes, whether prize money flows into new experimentation or backfills existing budgets, and how the lessons from finalists are shared in rep licable forms with smaller or less well-resourced towns.
Another structural question is whether awards and visibility risk concentrating talent and funding in places that already have strong university and private sector ecosystems. The iCapital rules try to encourage dissemination and mutual learning, but diffusion requires sustained policy alignment, technical assistance and funding mechanisms that go beyond a single prize.
What the finalists emphasised in their applications
The Commission’s short summaries show common themes across finalists: carbon and climate strategies, circular economy pilots, digital governance and citizen engagement, talent retention and innovation-friendly public procurement. Several cities emphasised multi-stakeholder governance and testing infrastructure for digital and green technologies. Others stressed social inclusion and cultural regeneration as routes to an innovative local economy.
Practical next steps for stakeholders
The Cities Innovate Summit on 4 December is the public moment to watch. Cities, investors, national authorities and civil society groups can expect public presentations, networking and the formal award handover. Registrations for the event were opened by the Commission in October 2025. All six finalists will be contacted to join the EIC Prizes Alumni Network to continue peer exchange.
| Event | Date | Notes |
| Finalists announced | 14 October 2025 | Shortlist of 6 published by the European Commission |
| Cities Innovate Summit and awards ceremony | 4 December 2025 | Winners announced at Turin ceremony; registrations open |
| Prize amounts | European Capital of Innovation: winner €1 000 000, two runners-up €100 000 each. Rising Innovative City: winner €500 000, two runners-up €50 000 each. |
A short primer on items mentioned in the announcement
Historical record and broader ecosystem ties
The iCapital prize has run since 2014. Past European Capital of Innovation winners include Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, Athens, Nantes, Leuven, Dortmund, Aix-Marseille Provence Metropole, Lisbon and Turin. Rising Innovative City winners include Vantaa, Haarlem, Linköping and Braga. The award is one element of the EIC prize portfolio which aims to promote and scale place-based innovation across the EU. The activities are part of a wider set of Commission instruments that include capacity building, grants, and the EIC Fund for investment co-financing.
What to read or follow next
Watch the Cities Innovate Summit on 4 December for the winners and for more detailed presentations of the finalist programmes. After the awards, look for detailed follow-up reporting from cities and independent evaluators to track whether prize funds and visibility produce measurable benefits and genuine replication across less resourced municipalities.
If you work for a city, national authority, investor, or civil society organisation interested in urban innovation, consider asking finalists for concrete outcome data and replication plans rather than policy summaries when discussing partnerships or co-funding.