26 February 2009

Members from the two winning delegations, namely Stockholm and Hamburg, were delighted as they, on Monday 23 February, were presented with the European Green Capital award at the Bibliothèque Solvay in Leopold Park in the heart of Brussels.

Both delegations took the opportunity to thank the European Commission for initiating the Green Capital-campaign, and commented on the fierce competition they had faced. 35 cities had applied for the award and, at the end of last year, eight were shortlisted. Apart from the two winners, the other finalists were Amsterdam, Bristol, Copenhagen, Freiburg im Breisgau, Münster and Oslo.

Fierce competition

Ms. Anja Hajduk, Senator for Urban Development and Environment in Hamburg, received the 2011 award on behalf of her city and said:

“With opponents such as Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Oslo, the international competition was very demanding. It is a great honour for Hamburg to be one of the first two cities to receive the European Green Capital Award. In our application, we have made it clear that business development and environmental protection go very well hand in hand.”

Thanks to citizens and businesses

Vice Mayor of 2010 winner Stockholm, Ms. Ulla Hamilton, gave credit to the stakeholders contributing towards developing a greener environment in her city. The Vice Mayor emphasized that the city council cannot make these changes alone.

“We are especially grateful for the environmental commitment of the companies and of the public of Stockholm,” she said as she was presented with the winning sculpture.

The cities applying for the European Green Capital award has to show evidence of measures already taken to create a greener city. Among the indicators were reductions of CO2 emissions, improvement of air quality, improvements of waste water management and noise reduction. The cities also had to map out their plans for the environmental steps ahead and come up with creative ideas for raising public awareness about the improved urban environment as inspiring role models.

See also photos from the ceremony and video presentation of finalists