The European Innovation Council has announced the twelve cities that have been selected as semi-finalists for the European Capital of Innovation 2026 and European Rising Innovative City 2026. The iCapital Award recognises those cities that open their governance practices to experimentation and aim at being role models for other cities, by pushing the boundaries of innovation for the benefit of their citizens. Following a rigorous assessment by two panels of independent experts, the semi-finalists (in alphabetical order) are:
European Capital of Innovation category
- Alicante (Spain)
- Grenoble (France)
- Liverpool (United Kingdom)
- Riga (Latvia)
- Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
- The Hague (The Netherlands)
European Rising Innovative City category
- Aalborg (Denmark)
- Kranj (Slovenia)
- Nicosia (Cyprus)
- San Sebastian (Spain)
- Stavanger (Norway)
- Ulm (Germany)