Awards categories 2027
The Bay Urban Visioning Awards recognize international examples that have the potential to encourage and inspire all those engaged with cities. They are selected based on their originality and significance in creating long-term impact for cities and metropolitan regions. Beyond the winners in the six award categories, a selection of outstanding projects will be featured as part of The Bay Awards international repository.
Applications for the 2027 edition of The Bay Urban Visioning Awards open in March 2026, with submissions accepted until 29 May 2026.
The three finalists in each award category will be notified on 15 November 2026 and invited to present their projects during The Bay Awards Summit, taking place on March 2027 in Bilbao. The winners will be announced during The Bay Awards Ceremony held as part of the Summit.
Awards categories
The Bay Awards recognize urban excellence through six categories, reflecting the key challenges and opportunities facing contemporary cities:
Horizon Shaper Award
Recognizes initiatives that have defined and successfully implemented a strategic, long-term vision for the future of their city or region, generating broad political and multi-sector consensus and delivering tangible results.
Who: Cities, metropolitan areas, and regions, as well as institutions, entities, and companies.
Achievement: Strategic urban vision and its effective implementation over time.
Partner: BBK Foundation
Partners in Progress Award
Recognizes projects that exemplify outstanding cooperation between public, private, and civic actors, fostering collective participation and empowerment to enhance metropolitan competitiveness, social cohesion, and citizens’ well-being.
Who: Cities, metropolitan areas, and regions, as well as institutions, entities, and companies.
Achievement: Collaborative urban projects that combine the strengths of multiple sectors.
Partners: Bilbao Port Authority + Petronor
Prosperity Catalyst Award
Recognizes projects that generate prosperity and promote inclusive economic and social development within communities.
Who: Cities, metropolitan areas, and regions, as well as institutions, entities, and companies.
Achievement: Strategies, projects, or initiatives capable of strengthening competitiveness and fostering sustainable and inclusive economic prosperity at territorial level.
Partner: Regional Government of Biscay
SDG Champions Award
Recognizes projects and initiatives that effectively implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda at local level, generating measurable impact in communities.
Who: Cities, metropolitan areas, and regions, as well as institutions, entities, and companies.
Achievement: Urban projects that significantly contribute to advancing the SDGs and the Local Agenda 2030, integrating social, environmental, and governance dimensions.
Partner: Basque Government
Metropolitan Connection Award
Recognizes initiatives that strengthen connectivity — infrastructure, transport, and digital — across cities and metropolitan areas, creating new opportunities for shared territorial development.
Who: Cities, metropolitan areas, and regions, as well as institutions, entities, and companies.
Achievement: Projects that improve connectivity at metropolitan scale and foster accessible, integrated, and resilient urban environments.
Partner: Bizkaia Transport Consortium
The Bay Urban Pioneers Award
Recognizes holistic, consolidated, multi-cycle urban transformation strategies that set global benchmarks for urban innovation and future-oriented planning.
Who: Exclusively cities, metropolitan areas, and regions.
Achievement: Proven models of comprehensive urban strategic transformation with long-term impact.
Partner: Bilbao City Council
Who is eligible to apply?
Cities, metropolises, regions, institutions, entities or companies are eligible to submit projects or initiatives.
With “entities and institutions” we are referring to associations, foundations, partnerships, training entities, universities, research centres, public agencies, technology centres, NGOs, etc.
The Bay Urban Pioneers Award is the only award exclusively for cities, metropolitan areas and regions.