Istanbul has emerged as a surprise front-runner for the Academy of Urbanism's prestigious title of "European City of the Year 2007" - closely followed by Rome, Barcelona and Paris.
The competition for this year's award was launched on the DTZ stand at the gargantuan MIPIM international property fair in Cannes earlier this month, and nominations came in thick and fast.
Behind the early front-runners of Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona and Paris, a larger group included Budapest, Stockholm, Athens, Berlin, Madrid, Prague, Munich, Amsterdam, St Petersburg, Valencia and Riga.
"The first four in the 'breakaway group' were getting twice as many votes as the rest of the peleton," said John Thompson, chairman of the Academy of Urbanism, who launched the race in Cannes.
In addition to the European City of the Year award, the Academy will again be making awards in four categories - Great Town, Great Neighbourhood, Great Street and Great Place - in Britain and Ireland.
"We're encouraging as many people as possible to log on to academyofurbanism.org.uk to make their nominations, hopefully with a poem," Thompson said. Poems will be judged by Ian McMillan, the Academy's Poet in Residence, and the winner will receive two tickets for the gala Urbanism Awards ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel, London, in November.
Nominations close on Friday, April 13th, after which the Academy will select 10 in each category for the Nominations Dinner in the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, on May 24th, at which 15 finalists (three in each category) will be chosen. These will then be assessed on such criteria as governance, local character and distinctiveness, user friendliness, commercial success and viability, environmental and social sustainability and functionality.
