Announcement of Prize Laureate, 18 May 2010

The Prize Laureate for the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, Bilbao City Hall, was announced at a dedicated media conference on Tuesday, 18 May 2010. The Deputy Mayor of Bilbao, Mr Ibon Areso, former Deputy Prime Minister of the Basque Government (1991-1995), Mr. Jon Azua, and the Ambassador of Spain to Singapore , His Excellency, Antonio Sanchez Jara, were present at the Media Conference, which was chaired by Mrs Cheong Koon Hean, CEO(URA) and member of the Nominating Committee. Please click on the links below to view the proceedings of the media conference.

Bilbao City Hall

Cities are cradles of cultural, social and economic activity. Today's cities face increasing pressures to adapt to changes due to increasing density, expansion and fragmentation. One of the key challenges is how to remain as attractive places where people will want to live, work and play in.

Bilbao City Hall has been named the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize Laureate in recognition of its integrated and holistic approach in urban transformation. Bilbao City Hall has demonstrated that urban regeneration can be a powerful social and economic driver to catalyse change, strengthen the urban fabric, inject vibrancy and improve the quality of life for its citizens.

The Jury’s Citation

Bilbao City Hall has been instrumental in regenerating and transforming the city of Bilbao from an obsolete and dilapidated industrial city into a knowledge-based economy. The success of Bilbao is largely attributed to its integrated and holistic approach to achieve economic, social and physical transformations. Its emphasis on environmental clean up, use of culture, internationalisation and design, major improvements to its infrastructure, as well as the restoration of its historic areas over some 25 years have successfully rejuvenated the city. More significantly, the city was able to connect investment in infrastructure with social integration. The river, which was once a physical and social barrier, is now a hub for social and cultural integration and a centre for innovation and creativity.

The jury is particularly impressed with the establishment of Bilbao Ria 2000 as an effective framework to align government, business and the community towards a shared vision for the city. Bilbao Ria 2000 is a testimony to the importance of strong leadership and institutionalised processes in key decision-making and sustained implementation.

Bilbao is also an exemplary city that continually re-invents and evolves itself amidst dynamic changes, and will serve as an inspiration to cities worldwide. The experience of Bilbao as a comprehensive "city project", incrementally executed through 25 urban projects over 25 years, has achieved a profound transformation of the city. The city has improved its environment and quality of life significantly, strengthened its social cohesiveness and cultural vibrancy and also increased its economic competitiveness.

It is noted that the key factors underlying the success of Bilbao's transformation is more than the "Guggenheim Effect". It is not about achieving urban transformation and economic and social vibrancy through a few iconic buildings. Rather, Bilbao has shown that strong leadership and a commitment to a systematic and long-term plan, based on solid processes and supporting infrastructure, are key factors to the success of a city's transformation.