EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2017 : winners to be announced on 5th of April

The winners of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2017 will be announced on 5 April by Europa Nostra and the European Commission through a joint press release. Some 30 exemplary heritage achievements – in conservation, research, dedicated service, and education, training and awareness-raising – will be recognised.

Organisations and individuals from 39 countries across Europe submitted a total of 202 applications for the 2017 edition of the Awards. In regard to the categories, Conservation has the most entries (82). It is followed by Education, Training and Awareness-Raising (79), Research (21), and, finally, Dedicated Service to Heritage (20).

Concerning the countries, Italy is first in the ranking, with 39 projects submitted, followed by Spain, with 18 applications. Greece occupies third position (11 entries), the United Kingdom fourth (10 entries), and Finland and Croatia are in fifth place (9 entries). There was an increase in applications from Central Eastern European countries, such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Poland and Ukraine.

The meetings of the Awards’ juries to choose the winners were held in The Hague. The jury for category Education, Training and Awareness-Raising assembled on 20-21 January; the jury for category Conservation convened on 25-27 January; the jury for category Research met on 6 February; and the jury for category Dedicated Service gathered on 9 February.
The winners of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2017 will be celebrated during a high-profile event on 15 May at St. Michael’s Church in Turku, Finland. The European Heritage Awards Ceremony will be co-hosted by Maestro Plácido Domingo, President of Europa Nostra, and Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, and assemble some 1,200 people from across Europe. The ceremony will be followed by a festive closing evening at the Turku Castle.

The winners will also present their exemplary heritage accomplishments during the Excellence Fair on 14 May at the Sigyn Hall of the Turku Music Conservatory, and participate in various events at the European Heritage Congress organised by Europa Nostra from 11-15 May in Turku.

The EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards is supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.