Overview
- The European Central Bank revealed the ten shortlisted designs, which it unveiled on Wednesday, divided into two concept tracks called 'European culture' and 'Rivers and birds'.
- The culture track places named historic figures on denominations including Maria Callas on €5 and Leonardo da Vinci on €100 while the nature track pairs specific bird species with river or coastal scenes for each value.
- The ECB has opened a public consultation that runs until 21 September and will run an independent demoscopic survey to complement jury advice and technical assessments.
- Officials say the redesign aims to add new anti-counterfeiting features, improve tactile and visual accessibility for people with low vision, and cut the notes' environmental footprint through different materials and production methods.
- The Governing Council plans to select a winning concept by the end of 2026 and then move into development and testing while current euro banknotes remain legal tender and will circulate alongside any new series.