The possible themes for future euro banknotes have today been selected by the European Central Bank (ECB). In a few years, euro bills will likely feature illustrations representing 'European culture', rivers and birds.
In a survey commissioned by the ECB, 'European culture' was most popular (21%) amongst eurozone citizens, followed by 'Rivers: the waters of life in Europe' (18%) and 'Birds: free, resilient, inspiring' (17%). The survey comprised a representative sample of 23,377 Europeans.
"We are very happy with the strong participation in our online survey," said ECB President Christine Lagarde. "Both of the chosen themes share a common thread of connecting Europe and Europeans, and this is very much in keeping with our goal of making banknotes more relatable to people of all ages and backgrounds."
In a different survey, the same three themes were preferred, albeit in a different order. In both surveys, the other four shortlisted themes were ranked substantially lower.
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To reflect the public’s preferences as broadly as possible, the Governing Council gave its approval to combine 'Rivers: the waters of life in Europe' and 'Birds: free, resilient, inspiring' into a single nature-related theme.
The ECB's Governing Council decided to establish an advisory group to propose motifs for the selected themes by the end of 2024. After that, a competition to design the new banknotes will be held and European citizens will again have the chance to express their preferences on the design options.
"Banknotes are a symbol of our European unity, now and in the future. We are committed to ensuring that everyone can choose how they pay, be it using cash or digital payments," said Executive Board member Piero Cipollone.
The ECB is expected to decide on the final designs and when to produce and issue the new banknotes in 2026. Once a decision to produce new banknotes has been taken it will still be several years before the first new banknotes are issued.
