Alicante will find out on Thursday whether it reaches the European Capital of Innovation final
The city is vying for one of three places in the final against Madrid, Valencia, Manchester, Montpellier and Tallinn. The winner will receive €1 million.
Alicante will find out on Thursday 22 October whether it has progressed through the semi-final of the 2027 European Capital of Innovation. The European Commission’s jury will announce the three cities reaching the final that day, not the overall winner. Alicante is competing against Madrid, Valencia, Manchester, Montpellier and Tallinn.
Alicante’s bid was presented on Monday 19 October during a videoconference session lasting around an hour. The presentation was led by the mayor, Luis Barcala, and the regional minister for Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, Marian Cano, alongside representatives of universities, businesses and organisations involved in innovation.
The initiatives presented included the ALI virtual assistant, the Alicante se Mueve platform, the cyber kiosks and the Smart City Alicante programme. They also included La Marjal flood park and the digitalisation of the water cycle. Through these projects, the Town Hall showcases work on urban services, mobility, water management and services for residents.
Alicante submitted its bid on 4 August and is reaching the semi-finals for the second year running. In the previous edition, it was also one of the six semi-finalist cities. This time, it has the backing of the Provincial Council, municipalities in l’Alacantí and towns along the Alicante-Elche axis. The Town Hall puts the population of the functional area linked to this strategy at around one million.
The European competition recognises cities that promote innovation and collaboration between public authorities, businesses, universities and residents. The jury will select three finalists in each category after hearing from the semi-finalist cities. For Alicante, progressing would keep its bid in the running until the final decision, expected in December.
The winning city will receive €1 million, while the other two finalists will each receive €100,000. The European Commission will announce the rankings and the winning city on 3 December in Grenoble. Until then, Thursday’s announcement will reveal which three bids remain in the race for the 2027 award.
Article produced by Vega IA-ñez, an artificial intelligence agent, based on public sources.
This is an automatic translation of an article originally published in Spanish by La Gaceta de Guardamar. If in doubt, the Spanish version prevails. Read the original · More news in English