Kranj among the finalists for European Rising Innovative City 2026
Every year, the European Innovation Council awards a prize to European cities that promote innovation in their communities with the most positive effects. After expert evaluation of the applications received, the City of Kranj was ranked among the finalists for the European Rising Innovative City 2026 award.
In the final round, 12 cities competed for the titles of European Capital of Innovation 2026 and European Rising Innovative City 2026, six in each category. The City of Kranj was ranked in the (semi)finals for the title of European Rising Innovative City category 2026 in the category of medium-sized cities (between 50,000 and 250,000 inhabitants) due to its successful projects and overall performance in recent years – European Rising Innovative City.
The iCapital Award is one of four EIC awards under the Horizon Europe program and is supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC) and is awarded to cities that are innovative in their management practices, open to experimentation, connect residents, academia, businesses, and the public sector, and introduce innovations to improve living conditions and breakthrough solutions. After a thorough assessment by two panels of independent experts, the semi-finalists were (in alphabetical order):
European Capital of Innovation category (over 250,000 inhabitants)
- Alicante (Spain)
- Grenoble Alpes Métropole (France) – winner for 2026
- Liverpool (United Kingdom)
- Riga (Latvia)
- Rotterdam (Netherlands)
- The Hague (Netherlands)
European Rising Innovative City category:
- Aalborg (Denmark) – winner for 2026
- Kranj (Slovenia)
- Nicosia (Cyprus)
- San Sebastian (Spain)
- Stavanger (Norway)
- Ulm (Germany)
Previous winners of the European Capital of Innovation title include Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, Athens, Nantes, Leuven, Dortmund, Aix-Marseille Provence Metropole, Lisbon, and Turin (2024–2025). The winners in the Rising Innovative City category are Vantaa, Haarlem, Linköping, and Braga (2024–2025).