Overview
- The European Central Bank published the ten finalist concepts on Wednesday, July 23, split evenly between a “European culture” set that maps named historical figures to denominations and a “Rivers and birds” set that pairs specific bird species with river or marine scenes.
- The culture proposals assign María Callas (5€), Ludwig van Beethoven (10€), Marie Curie (20€), Miguel de Cervantes (50€), Leonardo da Vinci (100€) and Bertha von Suttner (200€), while the nature proposals feature the treparriscos (5€), kingfisher (10€), bee‑eater colony (20€), white stork (50€), avocet (100€) and northern gannet (200€).
- The ten finalists emerged from an EU design contest that drew more than 1,200 entrants, invited 25 teams to develop proposals and used an independent 21‑expert jury to shortlist the final concepts; Spanish studios Rubio & del Amo and Cruz mas Cruz are among the preselected teams with a vertical-portrait proposal.
- The ECB says the redesign aims to add specific new security elements to counter evolving counterfeiting techniques, improve physical accessibility for people with visual impairments and lower environmental impact through more sustainable materials and production methods.
- An online public survey open until 21 September and a parallel demoscopic poll will be weighed alongside the jury’s technical recommendations before the Governing Council selects a concept by the end of 2026, after which development, testing and a multi‑year roll-out will follow while existing banknotes remain legal tender.