The Belgian city of Leuven has won the title of European Capital of Innovation (iCapital), which is awarded for the 6th time by the European Commission. This prize is awarded annually to European cities whose authorities actively use innovations in their work and support their development..

For example, since 2019, Leuven has its own plan to reduce the impact of the urban environment on the climate. The city plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2030 - 20 years earlier than the EU as a whole. In addition, within the framework of this plan, a pan-European project TOMORROW is working in Leuven, helping to bring the idea to mind for small startups that develop "

In addition, Leuven relies on technology in areas such as charity, education and urban improvement: it collects opinions of citizens on special platforms and supports promising initiatives, Europulse notes..

Leuven received a prize of 1 million euros for further development. 5 more cities-finalists received 100 thousand euros each. They are:

the unofficial capital of Tranvilvania (Romania) Cluj-Napoca, the second largest city in Finland, Espoo, Helsingborg (Sweden), Valencia (Spain) and Vienna. In total this year, the jury received 35 applications from cities in 20 countries - 30% more than in 2019.

Barcelona became the first European Capital of Innovation in 2014. A city with a population of more than 100 thousand people from the EU countries and 16 more countries - associated participants of the European research and innovation support program Horizon 2020 can apply for this title.