Benidorm presents its sustainable city model in Guimarães as a finalist for the European Green Leaf 2026

On Thursday, the city of Benidorm presented its sustainable city model in the Portuguese city of Guimarães as part of the series of presentations supporting its bid as a finalist for the European Green Leaf 2028. This award is granted by the European Commission to cities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants that demonstrate a firm commitment to sustainability and environmental improvement; Benidorm has been selected as a finalist for the second consecutive year. This recognition is awarded alongside the European Green Capital Award—aimed at larger cities—and both honour the achievements of Europe's leading sustainable cities across seven specific environmental areas: air quality; water management; biodiversity, green areas, and sustainable land use; waste and the circular economy; noise pollution; climate change mitigation; and climate change adaptation.

Led by Mayor Toni Pérez, the Benidorm delegation in Guimarães—the 2026 European Green Capital—spent 30 minutes presenting the municipality's environmental strategy and future projects aimed at further progress in this direction, followed by a question-and-answer session. The delegation also included the Councillor for the Environment, Mónica Gómez; a citizen representative; and various technical experts from Benidorm City Council, Visit Benidorm, HOSBEC, the University of Alicante, and Veolia.

The mayor stated that Benidorm is "once again presenting its model as a finalist—alongside two other cities, Chiclana de la Frontera and Estarreja—for a highly significant European Commission award that certifies the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of cities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants; we feel very positive following this presentation to the jury." “Sharing this process with major European cities, knowing we are finalists, and now—following the presentation and defense of our bid before the jury—facing the possibility of being awarded that seal, is something very significant that fills us with satisfaction,” stated Toni Pérez, noting that “now we must wait for the jury’s verdict tonight.” He added that “being finalists is a great success in itself—a major achievement for the city—but we hope luck is on our side; we hope the work well done, presented, and outlined to the jury today bears fruit and that we achieve a strong standing, earning the ‘Green Leaf’ designation that would place Benidorm in an elite tier few cities reach.”

Broadcast of the gala
As previously announced, the Benidorm City Council plans to broadcast the awards ceremony from the fifth floor of the El Torrejó Municipal Centre. Additionally, the event can be watched live online on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/live/fzjYLKp_ou0 

Benidorm is a finalist for the European Green Leaf 2028 award, alongside two other European cities: Chiclana and Estarreja (Portugal). This title is awarded annually to one or two cities; each winner receives a financial prize of €200,000 to help organise activities during their designated year and to foster further green transformation. For the European Green Capital 2028 category, the prize money rises to €600,000; the finalists vying for this award are Aalborg (Denmark), Bielsko-Biała (Poland), Košice (Slovakia), Porto (Portugal), and Zaragoza (Spain).

The jury responsible for selecting the winning cities is chaired by Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General for Environment at the European Commission, and comprises experts from the various fields under evaluation as well as institutional representatives. Participants in this edition include Nuria Blázquez, a member of *Ecologistas en Acción* (Ecologists in Action) and representative of the European Environmental Bureau; Inés de Medeiros, Mayor of Almada (Portugal) and member of the European Committee of the Regions; Sara Giovannini, coordinator of the Covenant of Mayors Europe office; and Katja Rosenbohm, representing the European Environment Agency.

While awaiting the jury's final decision, Mayor Toni Pérez reiterated that "the mere fact of being a finalist for the second consecutive year for such a prestigious and demanding European award is a source of great satisfaction in itself; it serves once again as an endorsement of Benidorm’s planning, implementation, and management—both as a city and as a tourist destination—grounded in environmental, economic, and social sustainability."