Athens is one of 12 European cities vying for the “European Capital of Innovation Award” for 2018, it was announced on Monday.

The other finalist cities of this year’s European Capital of Innovation Award are Aarhus, Antwerp, Bristol, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Leuven, Lisbon, Madrid, Toulouse, Umea, and Vienna.

This is an annual cash prize awarded to the European city that is best able to demonstrate its ability to harness innovation to improve the lives of its citizens. The winner city will receive €1 million while each of the five runner-ups will receive €100,000.

Athens mayor Giorgos Kaminis in an announcement stated that “the municipality’s plan is bearing fruit through a multitude of innovative collaborative programs. Athens has turned into a laboratory of innovative ways of reactivating and of social integration”.

Source: greece.greekreporter.com