The European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO, for its acronym in English) has called for the 18th edition of its award for social integration of ports, which will be awarded in 2026 under the slogan "Port-City Dual Use Projects." The award will recognize the port authority that has developed infrastructures and spatial planning projects capable of simultaneously serving port functions and the needs of the city.
According to ESPO in its call, both ports and cities need space to develop and face the challenges arising from their growing roles and changing responsibilities. European ports, in addition to operating as multimodal nodes connecting the continent's economy and society with the rest of the world, play an increasingly relevant role in energy transition, energy security, and defense preparedness, requiring state-of-the-art infrastructures, new investments, and additional space. For their part, European cities are in a process of growth, facing challenges in housing, needing new energy supply sources and networks, and seeking to offer their citizens sufficient spaces for culture, education, leisure, and nature.
With the 2026 edition, ESPO aims to reward port authorities that have developed port infrastructures and spaces in such a way that they serve the port function for which they were designed and, at the same time, allow their use by the city, whether simultaneously or complementarily, as can occur in cases of different seasonal needs.
The Secretary General of ESPO, Isabelle Ryckbost, has noted that the new roles that are being asked of ports regarding energy transition, energy security, or military preparedness require a large amount of port space. At the same time, she reminded that European ports are often located next to large urban agglomerations or are part of them, and that these cities also need to expand and respond to the needs of citizens in both housing and spaces for leisure and culture. Ryckbost explained that with this year's award, ESPO wants to highlight those ports that manage to combine different functions in the same infrastructure, which not only optimizes the use of a scarce space but also allows citizens who would not otherwise visit the port to see, feel, and understand port activity.
Nominations must be submitted to the ESPO secretariat before Friday, July 3, 2026. The application form and the terms of the call are available on the organization's website. The winning port will be selected by an independent jury composed of international experts in the award's subject, chaired by Eamonn O’Reilly. The winner will receive a painting from the "The Colours of ESPO" series, created exclusively for the organization by Dutch port painter Sasja Hagens. The submitted projects will be compiled into an illustrated publication edited by ESPO.
The award ceremony will take place during a dinner on November 10, 2026, in Brussels.
The ESPO award for social integration of ports has become one of the most relevant recognitions in the European port sector concerning port-city relations throughout its 18 editions. This year's call is particularly relevant in a context where numerous Spanish and European ports are undertaking urban integration projects and reorganizing their spaces to reconcile port activity with citizen uses, as recently seen in cities like Almería, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, or Seville, among others.