European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital) 2024: Semi-Finalists Announced

Twelve cities have advanced to the semi-final round of the tenth European Capital of Innovation (iCapital) Awards. These cities are now in the running to be named the 2024 European Capital of Innovation or the European Rising Innovative City.

The iCapital prize, supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC) under Horizon Europe, honours cities that embrace experimental governance practices and strive to serve as role models for others, pushing the limits of technology to benefit their citizens. The 2024 semi-finalists, chosen by two high-level panels of independent experts, are listed in alphabetical order: 

The European Capital of Innovation category

-Bristol (United Kingdom)

-Espoo (Finland)

-Tallin (Estonia)

-Tampere (Finland)

-Torino (Italy)

-West Midlands Combined Authority (United Kingdom)

The European Rising Innovative City category

-Braga (Portugal)

-Brugge (Belgium)

-Leiden (The Netherlands)

-Linz (Austria)

-Oulu (Finland)

-Tartu (Estonia)

Each semi-finalist city will be invited to a private, online hearing with the jury members and these hearings will follow strict guidelines, allowing each city to present its submitted application and respond to questions related to the award criteria. After the hearings, the jury members will select three finalist cities for each category. On 13 November 2024, the winners and two runners-up for each category will be announced at the awards ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, the 2023 iCapital winning city.