Athens is among the 2018 European Capital of Innovation Award finalist cities with the other competitors being: Aarhus, Antwerp, Bristol, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Leuven, Lisbon, Madrid, Toulouse, Umeå, and Vienna.

Finalists will present their innovation strategies at the ‘iCapital Stories’ session at this year’s European week of regions and cities in Brussels on 10 October.

The winner will be announced at the Web Summit in Lisbon on 6 November by Carlos MoSummitCommissioner for Research, Science, and Innovation.
Cities are judged on how they implement innovative solutions to societal challenges. These solutions can be completed or ongoing but must have been implemented in the year prior to the opening of the contest or the contest year itself.

Cities will have to show how they created the conditions for innovation by:

-experimenting with innovative concepts, processes, tools, and with governance models as a test-bed for innovation
-engaging citizens in the innovation process and ensuring the uptake of their ideas
-expanding the city’s attractiveness to become a role model for other cities
-empowering citizens by bringing concrete and measurable added value through the implementation of innovative practices.

Applications are judged by a panel of independent experts from across Europe.
The cities were chosen based on their ability to contribute to open and dynamic innovation ecosystems, involve citizens in governance and decision-making, use innovation to improve the resiliency and sustainability of their cities

The winner will receive €1 million while €100,000 will go to each of the five runner-up cities.

The award also recognises a number of finalist cities specially acknowledged for their efforts in promoting innovation.