The European Commission lists 18 European Green Capitals, from Stockholm in 2010 to Heilbronn in 2027, and 21 European Green Leaf winners from 2015 to 2027. Guimarães is the Green Capital for 2026, and Águeda and Vaasa hold the Green Leaf. The 2028 winners were due to be announced on 8 October 2026.13
What are the two awards?
The Commission's green city awards have two titles: European Green Capital for cities of over 100,000 inhabitants, and European Green Leaf for smaller cities from 20,000 inhabitants. The Commission says they recognise and reward local action towards a greener, more sustainable future.2
For the 2028 titles, a panel of independent experts first assessed the applications, and the Commission shortlisted 8 of 27 eligible cities. The finalists then present their case to a jury. The Green Leaf goes to one or two cities.3
Every winner, by year
The Commission's list has 18 Green Capitals from 2010 to 2027 and 21 Green Leaf winners from 2015 to 2027. It lists no Green Leaf winner for 2016 or 2023.1
| Year | European Green Capital | European Green Leaf |
|---|---|---|
| 20101 | Stockholm (Sweden) | – |
| 20111 | Hamburg (Germany) | – |
| 20121 | Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain) | – |
| 20131 | Nantes (France) | – |
| 20141 | Copenhagen (Denmark) | – |
| 20151 | Bristol (United Kingdom) | Mollet del Vallès (Spain), Torres Vedras (Portugal) |
| 20161 | Ljubljana (Slovenia) | None listed |
| 20171 | Essen (Germany) | Galway (Ireland) |
| 20181 | Nijmegen (Netherlands) | Leuven (Belgium), Växjö (Sweden) |
| 20191 | Oslo (Norway) | Cornella de Llobregat (Spain), Horst aan de Maas (Netherlands) |
| 20201 | Lisbon (Portugal) | Limerick (Ireland), Mechelen (Belgium) |
| 20211 | Lahti (Finland) | Gabrovo (Bulgaria), Lappeenranta (Finland) |
| 20221 | Grenoble (France) | Valongo (Portugal), Winterswijk (Netherlands) |
| 20231 | Tallinn (Estonia) | None listed |
| 20241 | Valencia (Spain) | Elsinore (Denmark), Velenje (Slovenia) |
| 20251 | Vilnius (Lithuania) | Treviso (Italy), Viladecans (Spain) |
| 20261 | Guimarães (Portugal) | Vaasa (Finland), Águeda (Portugal) |
| 20271 | Heilbronn (Germany) | Assen (Netherlands), Siena (Italy) |
City names are spelt as the Commission's list spells them. Where the list does not name a city's country, we took it from the Commission's own page or news release about that city. A dash means the award had not started.
What this page cannot tell you
- 2028 is not in the table. The Commission said the 2028 winners would be announced on 8 October 2026; they were not announced when we checked.
- A title is a snapshot. It was awarded for a city's work and plans at the time, and says nothing about the city today.
Related: Officially recognised places in Europe and Japan · European Capitals of Culture: every city · European Heritage Label sites · European Capital of Smart Tourism winners · Japan Heritage stories · National parks of Japan.
Key takeaways
- Guimarães is the 2026 European Green Capital; Águeda and Vaasa hold the 2026 Green Leaf.
- Heilbronn is the Green Capital for 2027; Assen and Siena hold the Green Leaf.
- The Green Capital is for cities of over 100,000 people; the Green Leaf is for smaller cities.
- What we would skip: reading a title as a ranking. These titles reward what a city or site plans or has done for the programme's own aims; they are not ratings of places to visit.
Sources
The lists and the descriptions come from the European Commission's Green Capital and Green Leaf pages and news releases, read on 1 October 2026. See how we research.
- European Commission, Winning cities – European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards, with the Commission's city pages and news releases linked from it, used where the list does not name the country. Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
- European Commission, European Green Capital Award. Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
- European Commission, Sustainable cities: Eight finalists announced for 2028 European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards (news, 30 June 2026). Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
Changes made. The lists on this page come from the European Commission's pages named under Sources. We reformatted them into tables, added links to our own pages, and summarised the Commission's text in our own words. © European Union; the Commission's content is reused under CC BY 4.0. We use no logos, emblems or images from these pages. Gallivanting Gadabout is not connected with the European Commission, which does not endorse this page.