2016 European Heritage Awards: 187 Applications from countries received
Organisations and individuals from 36 countries across Europe submitted a total of 187 applications for the 2016 edition of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award. In regard to the categories, Conservation has the most entries (79). It is followed by Education, Training and Awareness-Raising (56), Research (31), and, finally, Dedicated Service to Heritage (21).
Concerning the countries, Italy is first in the ranking, with 30 projects submitted, followed by Spain, with 19 applications. The United Kingdom occupies third position (14 entries), Portugal fourth (13 entries), and Belgium is in fifth place (10 entries). A significant number of applications were received from Central Eastern European countries, such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Slovenia and Czech Republic.
The meetings of the Awards’ juries to choose the winners will be held in Brussels and The Hague in February 2016. The jury for the Research category will meet on 8 February at the Europa Nostra’s office in Brussels; the jury for the Dedicated Service category will gather on 10 February; the jury for the Conservation category will convene on 18-19 February; and the jury for the Education, Training and Awareness-Raising category will assemble on 22-24 February, in The Hague.
The official announcement of the 2016 winners will be made by Europa Nostra and the European Commission through a joint press release at the beginning of April.
This year, up to 30 winners will be honoured at the European Heritage Awards Ceremony on the evening of 24 May at the historic Zarzuela Theatre in Madrid, Spain. This high-profile event will be co-hosted by Maestro Plácido Domingo, President of Europa Nostra, and Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. The ceremony will be followed by a festive reception at the Fine Arts Circle.
The laureates will present and discuss their award-winning projects during the Excellence Fair on the morning of 24 May at the College of Architects of Madrid.
The EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award is supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.