Four Eurocities member cities have made the list of six finalists for the European Union’s Capital of Innovation award.

Members Cluj-Napoca, Espoo, Leuven and Vienna join Valencia and Helsingborg in the running to win a €1 million prize to the city deemed the most able to improve its inhabitants’ lives through innovation. Runners-up are guaranteed to receive €100,000 for their efforts.

The award, which is funded by the EU’s Horizon2020 research and innovation programme, will go to the city that is shown to contribute the most to local innovation ecosystems, involves its inhabitants in decision making and uses innovation to improve its resilience and sustainability. The winner will be announced on September 24.

The prize money is intended to give a boost to the winning city’s innovation scene. Applications are judged by an expert panel from across Europe.

The award has been running since 2016 and is open to any city that has more than 100,000 inhabitants and is in a country involved in Horizon2020. Previous winners include Eurocities members Nantes, Paris, Amsterdam and Athens, with many more members having benefitted from funding as runners-up.

More information is available on the Capital of Innovation website.