The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) Award on Social Integration of Ports is entering its 18th edition in 2026, and this year’s theme is “Dual-Use Port-City Projects.”
Both the port and the city need space to develop and meet the challenges of their growing roles and changing responsibilities. On top of that, both ports and cities need each other to realise their ambitions. Beyond being multimodal hubs connecting Europe’s economy and society to the world, ports play a crucial role in Europe’s energy transition, energy security, and military preparedness, requiring state-of-the-art infrastructure, new investments, and additional space. Meanwhile, European cities are growing, facing housing challenges, needing new energy sources and supply, and seeking to provide citizens with sufficient space for culture, education, leisure, and nature.
With the 2026 edition of the ESPO Award, ESPO seeks to give the award to a port managing body that has developed port infrastructure and space in such a way that it serves the port function(s) for which it was designed while also allowing the use of the infrastructure for a certain use or function by the city, either simultaneously or complementarily, in case of different seasonal needs, for instance.
The new roles that ports are asked to take up in terms of energy transition, energy security, or military preparedness require a lot of port space. Europe’s ports are in many cases adjacent to or part of big city agglomerations, which, from their side, need to expand and accommodate the needs of the citizens both in terms of housing but also in terms of space for leisure and culture. With this year’s award, we want to give attention to those ports that successfully try to combine different functions in one infrastructure. "This is not only optimising the use of the scarce space but is also allowing citizens who would otherwise not come to the port, to see, feel, and understand the port," says ESPO’s Secretary General Isabelle Ryckbost.
Project submissions must reach the ESPO Secretariat by Friday 3 July 2026 at the latest. The application form and the terms of reference are available on the ESPO Website.
The ESPO Award-winning port is selected by an independent jury of international experts on the theme of the award under the chairmanship of Eamonn O’Reilly. The winner receives a painting out of the series “The Colours of ESPO” created exclusively for ESPO by Dutch port painter Sasja Hagens. The submitted projects are brought together into an illustrated ESPO Award booklet.
The award ceremony will take place during a dinner being held on 10 November 2026 in Brussels.
