The results will be announced at the Web Summit in Lisbon on 6 November.

The other finalists for this year’s European Capital of Innovation Award are Aarhus (Denmark), Antwerp (Belgium), Bristol(UK), Gothenburg (Sweden), Hamburg (Germany), Leuven (Belgium), Madrid (Spain), Toulouse (France), Umeå (Sweden)and Vienna (Austria).

The European city best able to demonstrate its ability to harness innovation to improve the lives of its citizens is to receive €1 million, and each of the five runners-up €100,000.

Cities that have at least 100,000 inhabitants and that are located in an EU country or a country associated to Horizon 2020 are eligible to enter the competition.

Competing cities are judged on how they implement innovative solutions to societal challenges. The solutions can be completed or ongoing, and must be implemented in the year running up to the contest or in the year of the contest itself.

Finalists will be presenting their innovation strategies at the ‘iCapital Stories’ session taking place at this year’s European week of regions and cities in Brussels, on 10 October.