The European Central Bank has unveiled ten shortlisted designs for the next series of euro banknotes and opened a public survey on them, more than four years after starting a redesign it originally expected to complete in 2024.
The proposals, published on July 23, 2026, follow two themes selected by the ECB’s Governing Council: “European culture” and “Rivers and birds”. The online survey runs until September 21, 2026.
Five of the shortlisted designs place historical figures on the front of the notes. Maria Callas would appear on the €5 note, Ludwig van Beethoven on the €10, Marie Curie on the €20, Miguel de Cervantes on the €50, Leonardo da Vinci on the €100 and the Austrian pacifist Bertha von Suttner on the €200.
The reverse sides of those notes show cultural and leisure scenes, among them a choir and a library. The other five designs feature European bird species set against river landscapes, including the kingfisher, the bee-eater and the white stork.
On the back of the nature-themed notes are the headquarters of European Union institutions, among them the ECB’s own building in Frankfurt, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
“Euro banknotes are more than a means of payment,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde. She said designs combining beauty and meaning would reinforce a shared European identity.
The shortlist emerged from an EU-wide design contest that drew more than 1,200 applications, with 25 designers invited to submit proposals. A jury of 21 experts nominated by euro area central banks then narrowed the field to ten.
An independent research company is running a second survey with the same questions among a representative sample of euro area citizens. The Governing Council said it would decide around the end of the year, weighing the jury’s conclusions, a technical assessment and the results of both surveys.
The ECB said the winning design would undergo further testing before production, with the notes entering circulation in subsequent years. Existing banknotes would keep their value and circulate alongside the new series.
It would be the first complete redesign since euro cash was issued in 2002. The bank announced the project in December 2021, saying at the time that it expected to settle on a new look within three years.
Piero Cipollone, an ECB executive board member, said the redesign formed part of a long-term effort to keep cash secure and efficient. He said it preserved access to public money and the freedom to choose how to pay.
The redesign runs alongside the bank’s push for a digital euro, which cleared the European Parliament’s negotiating stage this month after right-wing groups forced a vote.
