Every year the European Union hands a handful of cities a title that comes with a year of attention: culture, environment, innovation. The selection cycles are long, so by October 2026 most of the 2027 picture is fixed. Here is who holds what, how they got it, and what the cities themselves have announced for the year, using only what the organisers have published.

European Capitals of Culture 2027: Liepāja and Évora

The European Capital of Culture title dates from 1985 and, according to the European Commission, has gone to more than 60 cities. The host countries are fixed in advance. Six years before the title year the host country opens a call; an independent expert panel draws up a shortlist, then recommends one city, which the national authority formally designates four years ahead. The same panel monitors preparations and decides whether to recommend the Melina Mercouri Prize, currently EUR 1.5 million from Creative Europe. The 2026 holders are Oulu in Finland and Trenčín in Slovakia; we profile Oulu here.

For 2027 the titles go to one Latvian and one Portuguese city.

Liepāja (Latvia) runs its year with the South Kurzeme and Kuldīga regions under the name “(un)rest”. The full programme was presented on 9 October 2026 at the Great Amber Concert Hall: more than 500 events, built on five thematic lines with more than 200 partners and curators, with around 60% of events in Liepāja and 40% in the two regions. The year opens on 22 January 2027 with events in Kuldīga and Aizpute. On 23 January the focus moves to Liepāja, ending with the opening concert Wind Symphony at 21:00 in the Great Hall of the Great Amber, the premiere of a new work by Ēriks Ešenvalds, directed by LAURA, with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra. Tickets went on sale on 13 October 2026.

Dated highlights from the official programme include Rufus Wainwright on 30 January; the opera-performance Sun & Sea from 8 to 11 April; Andris Nelsons with the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig on 26 May; Eurovision Young Musicians on 10 July; Europa Cantat 2027 from 9 to 15 August; and Chiharu Shiota’s exhibition “The Fabric of Reality” from 3 March to 28 November. The youth festival “Institute of the Future” on 27 November closes the year at the Great Amber.

Évora (Portugal) was recommended on 7 December 2022 by the expert panel, which had shortlisted Aveiro, Braga, Évora and Ponta Delgada from twelve applicants, according to the Commission’s announcement. Its concept is “Vagar”, a slower way of living rooted in the Alentejo. After Lisbon (1994), Porto (2001) and Guimarães (2012) it is the fourth Portuguese holder. The Évora city council wrote on 1 April 2026 that the official opening is scheduled for 6 February 2027 and that the final 2027 programme would be presented on 18 November. We could not reach the Évora 2027 association’s own website, so we report no programme details beyond that.

European Green Capital and Green Leaf: 2027 and 2028

The European Green Capital award, launched by the Commission in 2010, goes to a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants; the European Green Leaf covers towns of 20,000 to 100,000. Cities apply, an international panel of experts scores them on seven environmental areas (air, water, biodiversity and land use, waste and circular economy, noise, climate mitigation and adaptation), and a shortlist presents to a jury drawn from the Commission, the Committee of the Regions, the European Environment Agency, the Covenant of Mayors and the European Environmental Bureau. The Green Capital receives EUR 600,000; each Green Leaf winner EUR 200,000.

The 2027 winners were announced in Vilnius on 2 October 2025, from 20 cities in 11 countries. Heilbronn (Germany) is European Green Capital 2027; the Commission cited its scores in air quality, water, noise, climate adaptation and the circular economy. Assen (Netherlands) and Siena (Italy) share the Green Leaf: Assen for waste policy, CO₂ cuts and its cycle highway to Groningen, Siena for green space (28 m² per resident), a 61.4% recycling rate and 1% landfill.

Heilbronn says its year officially starts on 15 January 2027, with a ceremony in the Stadttheater and a public event on the Marktplatz. A letter of intent signed with the Commission foresees events for residents, exchanges with other cities and several Europe-wide meetings. The city is recruiting volunteers, with information evenings on 20 October and 18 November 2026 at the town hall.

The 2028 winners were named on 8 October 2026 at a ceremony in Guimarães, the 2026 Green Capital (our profile of Guimarães). Zaragoza will be European Green Capital 2028, praised by the jury for strong governance and long-term commitment; we have a profile of Zaragoza. Benidorm (Spain) and Estarreja (Portugal) share the Green Leaf 2028: Benidorm for managing mass-tourism pressure while protecting its environment, Estarreja for moving beyond its industrial legacy. Twenty-seven cities competed.

European Capital of Innovation 2027: still open

The European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital) are run by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency under Horizon Europe. There are two categories: European Capital of Innovation, for cities of at least 250,000 people (EUR 1 million to the winner, EUR 100,000 to each of two runners-up), and European Rising Innovative City, for 50,000 to 249,999 (EUR 500,000, and EUR 50,000 per runner-up). Juries score six criteria: experimenting, scaling, ecosystem building, expanding, the city’s innovation vision and citizens’ rights. Grenoble Alpes Métropole and Aalborg hold the 2026 titles.

The 12th edition opened on 5 May 2026 and closed on 4 August. On 30 September the agency named twelve semi-finalists. For the capital category: Alicante, Madrid, Manchester, Montpellier, Tallinn and Valencia. For the rising-city category: Galway, Kranj, Leiden, Oulu, Regensburg and Taranto. Each city has a remote hearing with the jury, which picks three finalists per category. Winners and runners-up will be announced at a ceremony in Grenoble on 3 December 2026. Oulu, the 2026 Capital of Culture, could therefore move straight from one EU title to another.

We will update our event pages when the iCapital results and the Évora programme are published.