BEST CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT

Chicago, Illinois, USA
All for the love of Chicago: Leveraging civic pride to tell our story, entered by Choose Chicago

Costa Rica
From brand to belonging: Turning country values into citizen action, entered by essential COSTA RICA

Lapland, Finland
Land and brand of the spirited people, entered by Lapland Regional Council 
[Credits: Werklig]

Luxembourg
LuXembourg. 10 Years.10 Letters. Entered by LuXembourg - Let's Make It Happen - Ministry of the Economy

Sunderland, UK
Reimagining citizen engagement through place, participation and pride, entered by Sunderland City Council

Ukraine
From a children’s book to a generation of city-makers [Urban Movement "City Is Me"], entered by Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund [Project: Urban Movement "City Is Me"]

Venlo, Netherlands
Participation process for the development and launch of the Venlo brand, entered by Merkhuis Venlo 
[Credits: Venlo Partners, Gemeente Venlo]

Vilnius, Lithuania
Vilnius Pink Soup Fest, entered by Go Vilnius

Wollongong, Australia
Wollongong Goals, entered by Wollongong City Council

BEST COMMUNICATION STRATEGY | Economic Development

Baie-James, Nord-du-Québec, Canada
Baie-James: A strategy that fuels an entire attraction pipeline, entered by Visages Régionaux

Calgary, Alberta, Canada
It's possible: Where blue sky thinking gets done, entered by Calgary Economic Development 
[Credits: Daughter Creative Ltd, Joe Media Group Inc]

Denmark
Friend recruiter program, entered by Copenhagen Capacity
[Credits: Ogilvy Denmark]

Estonia
I almost forgot this is the whole point — Work In Estonia's first US talent campaign, entered by Work Estonia
[Credits: Age Creative, Mediabrands Digital]

Gothenburg, Sweden
From awareness to action: A unified journey for investors and talent, entered by Business Region Göteborg (BRG)

Helsinki, Finland
Hire Helsinki: The city applying to be your next home, entered by Helsinki Partners

Oslo, Norway
Oslo Influencer Collective: Where science meets storytelling
[Credits: Pivot]

Puerto Rico, USA
Momentum — Turning global cultural attention into business credibility, entered by Invest Puerto Rico 
[Credits: Piro, Development Counsellors International (DCI)]

Republic of Moldova
From Moldova to the whole world, entered by Invest Moldova Agency

BEST COMMUNICATION STRATEGY | Place Brand

Chile
You will See Chile, entered by Marca Chile

Costa Rica
Producers of wellbeing – Turning origin into preference, entered by essential COSTA RICA

Helsinki, Finland
Operation: Make Pamela a hyytiäinen, entered by Helsinki Partners

Lithuania
From Osaka to the Baltics: Turning virtual trees into living forests, entered by Chancellery of the Republic of Lithuania 
[Credits: Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA)]

Scotland
Scotland: Innovation with spirit, entered by Brand Scotland 
[Credits: Scottish Government, Universities Scotland, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland, Scotland Food and Drink, Highlands and Islands Enterprise]

Tasmania, Australia
The Tasmanian Scent, entered by Brand Tasmania

BEST COMMUNICATION STRATEGY | Tourism

Camarillo, California, USA
The colors of Camarillo, entered by Camarillo Hotel & Tourism Association (Visit Camarillo), in partnership with The Abbi Agency [Credits: Room for Cream - Production Team]

Canada
Canada, Naturally: Turning a familiar neighbour into a must-visit destination, entered by Destination Canada 
[Credits: Rethink, Initiative, Praytell, Tartanbond]

Croatia
Croatia, I hear it's beautiful, entered by Croatian National Tourist Board 
[Credits: Three Lions d.o.o., Bunker d.o.o., Brandmama d.o.o.]

Estonia
Estonian bucket list, entered by Visit Estonia Under Enterprise Estonia 
[Credits: AGE Creative]

Frisco, Texas, USA
Sports City USA™: Where greatness grows, entered by Visit Frisco
[Credits: Verb Interactive, MMGY Global]

Helsinki & Canada
The Pamela Swap, entered by Helsinki Partners and Destination Canada

Northern Ireland
Tourism Northern Ireland: Spring into your next giant adventure, entered by M+C Saatchi Performance 
[Credits: TBWA\ The Disruption® Company, Ardmore, Jago]

Norwich, UK
Norwich - Old city, new attitude. Entered by Norwich Business Improvement District (BID) / DMO VisitNorwich

Ottawa, Canada
Magic on set, entered by Ottawa Tourism

Pennyslvania, USA
From fixtures to footfall: Turning FIFA World Cup 2026™ attention into visits to Pennsylvania, entered by Ardmore Group

Vancouver, Canada
Inviting the world to recouver in Vancouver, entered by Destination Vancouver
[Credits: Rethink, Noise Digital]

BEST PLACEMAKING INITIATIVE

City of SeaTac, Washington State, USA
World table district: Placemaking through multiculturalism, entered by Explore Seattle Southside
[Credits: One23West]

Eastern City, London, UK
City Views, entered by Eastern City BID
[Credits: baflaw, RED Collective, City of London Corporation]

Helsinki, Finland
The doggy route to happiness – The world’s first sightseeing route for dogs, entered by Helsinki Partners

Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Tourism Kamloops: Freeride lives here, entered by Tourism Kamloops

Martin County, Florida, USA
Explore natural Martin, entered by Martin County Office of Tourism & Marketing
[Credits: Leave No Trace]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Philly pride visitor center, entered by Visit Philadelphia
[Credits: Philadelphia Visitor Center Corporation, Philadelphia Gay News]

Vilnius, Lithuania
Vilnius Pink Soup Fest, entered by Go Vilnius

BEST STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

Costa Rica
From brand to collective action: Turning country values into stakeholder engagement, entered by essential COSTA RICA

Lapland, Finland
Building the coalition of the spirited, entered by The Regional Council of Lapland
[Credits: Werklig]

New South Wales, Australia
Regional NSW: From engagement to action, entered by Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner (O24HEC)

New Zealand
Te Ātea Brand Hub: Shared stewardship of brand New Zealand, entered by New Zealand Story 
[Credits: New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, Tourism New Zealand, Education New Zealand, Invest New Zealand]

Scotland
Scotland: Building a university coalition to unite for growth, entered by Brand Scotland
[Credits: Scottish Development International /  Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Government, Universities Scotland, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland, Scotland Food and Drink, Highlands and Islands Enterprise]

Switzerland
The story is the ecosystem: The Swiss biotech day global village, entered by Switzerland Global Enterprise

Trumbull County, Ohio, USA
Get on the bus: The day that changes the conversation, entered by Trumbull County Tourism
[Credits: Trumbull County Commissioners, Lake to River Economic Development, Western Reserve Port Authority, Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber]

BEST USE OF DATA

Chicago, Illinois, USA
Winning AI search visibility: How Choose Chicago used data to lead the search everywhere optimization era, entered by Choose Chicago
[Credits: Envisionit]

Downtown San Francisco, California, USA
Beyond traditional metrics: A new lens on downtown San Francisco, entered by Downtown SF Partnership

Helsinki, Finland
Turning data into discoverability: Using evidence-based action to strengthen Helsinki's tourism network, entered by City of Helsinki

New South Wales, Australia
Data after dark platform, entered by Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner (O24HEC)

Sydney, Australia
Beyond the postcard: Quantifying the economic power of Sydney’s brand, entered by Committee for Sydney
[Credits: Deloitte Access Economics]

Vancouver, Canada
Increasing engagement with a personal concierge, entered by Destination Vancouver
[Credits: One Net]

BEST USE OF DESIGN

Australia
Brand Australia Soundscapes: Designing how Australia sounds, entered by Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) [Credits: Smith & Western, Houston Group]

Chicago, Illinois, USA
Never Done. Never Outdone: Designing the visual language of a city that never stands still, entered by Choose Chicago
[Credits: Envisionit]

City of SeaTac, Washington State, USA
World table district brand identity and program, entered by Explore Seattle Southside
[Credits: One23West]

Innsbruck, Austria
Between INNS’ And BRUCK: An open design system for an Alpine-Urban city, entered by ARGE Gruppe am Park × himmel

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Visit Philadelphia's 250th anniversary mark, entered by Visit Philadelphia
[Credits: Allen & Gerritsen]

Plymouth, UK
'Make life an adventure' Britain's ocean city, entered by Destination Plymouth Ltd
[Credits: DNCO]

Vancouver, Canada
Helping the city celebrate with the home turf toolkit, entered by Destination Vancouver
[Credits: Will Creative]

THE CITY NATION PLACE FUTURE LEADER AWARD

Chicago, Illinois, USA
Dorian Gongora, Graphic Designer, Choose Chicago

Downtown San Francisco, California, USA
Annoushqa Bobde, Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Analytics, Downtown SF Partnership

Koprivnica, Croatia
Eva Tetec, Protocol & PR, City of Koprivnica

Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Jacqueline Woodruff, Community Brand Strategist, The Town of Newmarket

Ottawa, Canada
Evelyn Ashworth, Content Manager, Ottawa Tourism

PLACE BRAND OF THE YEAR

Costa Rica
Vision 2035 in action – Building preference abroad, belonging at home, entered by essential COSTA RICA

Finland
Making happiness happen, entered by Finland Promotion Board

Frisco, Texas, USA
Sports City USA™: Where greatness grows, entered by Visit Frisco
[Credits: VERB Interactive]

Gothenburg, Sweden
Building Gothenburg's place brand. A shared strategy to attract talent, investment and collaboration, entered by Business Region Göteborg (BRG)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Philadelphia 2026: Building for the moment, 2027 and beyond, entered by Visit Philadelphia

Scotland
Scotland: Turning reputation into action, entered by Brand Scotland
[Credits: Scottish Development International /  Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Government, Universities Scotland, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland, Scotland Food and Drink, Highlands and Islands Enterprise]

Staffordshire, UK
We Are Staffordshire: One county, one story, entered by We Are Staffordshire

Tasmania, Australia
From telling our story to stewarding our place brand, entered by Brand Tasmania

Congratulations to all of our finalists!