The winners of the European Green City Awards 2026 were announced yesterday afternoon. Guimarães, Portugal will be European Green Capital in 2026, while the “European Green Leaf” award aimed at smaller cities was awarded to the cities of Agenda (Portugal) and Vaasa ( Finland).

The Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal Mr. Maros Šefčović said: “I would like to congratulate the award-winning cities of Guimaraes, Agenda and Vaasa, for their commitment to achieving ambitious environmental goals and for the inspiration they provide. The “Green Capital of Europe” and “European Green Leaf” awards are recognition, but also entail responsibilities. Cities are key drivers of the green transition. I would like to congratulate all the candidate cities for their continued dedication to promoting a clean and healthy environment so that their citizens can enjoy a better quality of life.”

The expert jury crowned Guimaraes European Green Capital for 2026 thanks to the successful integration of sustainability and circularity into the city’s mentality, with the support of the entire local community. The city also impressed the jury for connecting creativity with science and data.

The cities of Agenda and Vaasa that won the European Green Card impressed the jury thanks to their unique approaches to involving local communities in the green transition.

Agenda was praised for its comprehensive and structured approach to sustainability and inclusion of the entire community through online applications. The jury also recognized the role of art and culture as powerful drivers of sustainable transition.

The jury praised the city of Vaasa for its bold ambition to achieve “carbon neutral 202X”, leveraging its growing energy sector as an incubator and driver of systemic sustainable transitions. The jury recognized “the energy capital of the North” for raising its citizens’ awareness of sustainability through energy education.

The winning cities will receive prizes that will further support their green efforts: a prize of €600,000 will be given to Green Capital Guimaraes and €200,000 to the cities of Agenda and Vaasa that won the European Green Leaf.

This year, a total of 21 cities competed for the awards. An international panel of seven independent experts in the field of urban sustainability evaluated each application and selected the seven finalists. More information is available in the related news and on the website of the European Green Capital and the European Green Leaf Awards.

Katerina Plati