Design of New Euro Banknote a Choice Between Culture and Nature

Euro banknotes are set to be adorned with either rivers and birds, or images of European culture, as the Governing Council of European Central Bank (ECB) whittles down options for the first redesign of the currency since its inception.

The two themes selected come from an original list of 29 proposals and shortlist of seven.

The decision is based on the results of surveys carried out in the summer for the European public to express their preferences from the shortlisted themes.

In a representative survey commissioned by the ECB, ‘European culture’ was most popular (21%) amongst euro area 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.