On 23 November 2022, Tirana, Albania, as the Youth Capital of Europe 2022, hosted the final award ceremony and announcement of the competition results.

The jury convened by the European Youth Forum awarded Lviv the title of European Youth Capital 2025. It is symbolic that the city gained this status mere hours after yet another massive Russian missile attack on Ukraine had left the entire city without electricity and water supply. Even in the hours of darkness, Ukrainian youth show that their hearts are full of light and prove the importance of defending European values ​​and principles every day.

The following cities competed for the title of European Youth Capital:

• Lviv, Ukraine;
• Fuenlabrada, Spain;
• Izmir, Turkey;
• Tromsø, Norway.

Among the main goals that the Lviv team has set for the programme is the implementation of initiatives that will help encourage young people to return to Ukraine and build connections between young Ukrainians in Ukraine and the world.

When awarding the Lviv team, a member of the Board of the European Youth Forum, Tom Matthew, noted:

“This is the first time that a European Youth Capital has won the title while its country is at war. Despite the challenges, Lviv introduced a detailed plan that is full of hope and aspiration of Ukrainian youth to adhere to European values, restore and develop Ukraine. We share this hope with Lviv’s young people and we will be by their side when they rebuild their country. We are inspired by Lviv’s resilience and we are confident that the city will make their year as the 2025 European Youth Capital a great success.”

Lviv dedicates this year not only to local youth, but also to those who were forced to flee for other countries, as well as to many young Ukrainians who were displaced from their hometowns.

The European Youth Capital 2025 programme will strengthen the policy development both at the national and local levels, because it is focused on young people, their participation in decision-making processes, involvement in volunteering and other public activities. The programme will include youth forums for high-level participation in debates on issues ranging from security to academia and creative industries. It will also include a large-scale 24-hour youth event combining workshops, discussions, networking and entertainment for young people and youth organisations from all over Europe. Lviv also plans to use this title to stimulate volunteering, skill development and employment among young citizens.

The European Youth Capital is a title awarded by the European Youth Forum to a European city for one year. It is designed to empower young people, boost youth participation and strengthen European identity through projects focused on the cultural, social, political and economic life of young people. The first capital was chosen in 2009. Since 2014, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has been an official partner that approves the title of Youth Capital of Europe. The current 2022 European Youth Capital is Tirana, Albania.

In Ukraine, the national competition “Youth Capital of Ukraine” has been held since 2017. It was initiated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Institute of International Policy and the National Youth Council of Ukraine. The purpose of the competition is to award the best city for living and development of young people.

Lviv (2018), Kamianets-Podilskyi (2019), Ternopil (2020), Ostroh (2022) have took the title of youth capitals of Ukraine.