Moscow achievements: which projects of the Russian capital have been recognized with international awards
Moscow is a growing megacity with one of the most developed urban economies in the world. The Russian capital is implementing many advanced projects in various spheres of life. These developments are highly appreciated by the international community and experts. In 2024, the capital was awarded prestigious international prizes in such areas as digital technologies, transportation, entrepreneurship, tourism, ecology and others. Thus, the Russian capital received an award in China for the organization of the festival “Chinese New Year in Moscow”, was awarded a certificate of the United Nations Organization (UNO) for the development of a smart city and was included with its best practices in the World Cities Report 2024. Last year it also topped various international rankings - for example, it became the best city of the BRICS countries and was among the top five best cities in the world.
Openness to tourists and accessibility of city services
In summer 2024, Moscow became the winner of one of the most famous international professional awards in China - China Brand Marketing Awards, taking second place in two nominations. This award recognizes brand marketing projects implemented in China and other countries. The “Chinese New Year in Moscow” festival won silver in the “Best Holiday Marketing” category, while the “Chinese Bloggers' Tour to Moscow” event came second in the “Best Event Marketing” category.
The Chinese New Year in Moscow festival also took first place in the international Golden Flag Award in the category “Innovations in Culture and Tourism”. The prize, which was established in China in 2010, is awarded for the combination of innovative approaches and cultural values to brands - market leaders, projects in the field of public relations and marketing.
The Chinese New Year holiday was first celebrated in the Russian capital in February 2024. Then 300 events were held, including master classes, excursions, theatrical performances, musical and culinary shows. In the city worked festive sites decorated in Chinese style, and the central streets were decorated with illumination. The festival was visited by over 700 thousand tourists and Muscovites. This year it will be held again - from January 28 to February 9.
The tour for Chinese bloggers was organized in September 2023 and February 2024. Specially for the guests they developed personalized tours in their native language. Based on the results of the tour, the bloggers created videos and other content that garnered a combined total of more than 60 million views.
In September last year, Moscow once again turned out to be the best city of the BRICS countries in terms of technological and spatial development. For the second year in a row, the Russian capital has taken the leading position in the Urban & Innovation Environment Index rating, which is compiled by a consortium of research organizations from China, India and Russia. International experts noted the balanced development of the city, high availability of urban services for residents and introduction of new technologies in various spheres. In addition, they appreciated the high rate of development of transportation infrastructure, as well as the efforts made in the megacity to preserve the environment. Shanghai, St. Petersburg, Beijing and Guangzhou were also among the leaders of the 2024 rating.
Later, the same consortium of research organizations of the BRICS countries released a rating of the world's cities. Experts analyzed many indicators and put Moscow in fourth place, displacing Paris. The top three were London, Seoul and Madrid. According to experts, the Russian capital is distinguished by a high level of Internet penetration, excellent transport accessibility and rapid development of transport infrastructure, a convenient and understandable system of digital services for interaction between citizens and city services.
Leadership in advanced technologies and culture
Last September, Sergei Sobyanin was honored with the World Innovation Award. He received the award in the category “Sustainable Cities and Communities”. The international jury highly appreciated the Moscow Mayor's contribution to the introduction of advanced sustainable technologies on land, water and in the air. The World Innovation Award recognizes leaders who have made an outstanding contribution to achieving the UN plan to improve the quality of life and prosperity of the planet (UN Sustainable Development Goals). Its founder is the World Organization for Development (WOD), which has special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council.
In early October 2024, the Moscow Mayor's project “Leaders of Digital Transformation” became the winner of the international award in the sphere of modern technologies Global Innovation & Tech Excellence Awards. The capital's IT competition among developers to create digital products took first place in the Public-Private Partnership nomination. Experts noted the Moscow project “Leaders of Digital Transformation” for its focus on effective interaction between the city and business, as well as its important role in stimulating the innovative development of the entire country. It is noteworthy that the Global Innovation & Tech Excellence Awards is an award with more than 20 years of history. It recognizes the best projects in the private and public sectors that help improve people's quality of life through modern technology. In 2024, applicants for the award came from more than 50 countries.
In addition, in October 2024, Moscow was certified as part of the United for Smart Sustainable Cities, an international initiative of the United Nations. Moscow managed to confirm its status as one of the most technologically advanced megacities in the world. Experts evaluated the city according to 90 criteria reflecting the effectiveness of innovative solutions in various sectors, such as economy, environment, culture, society and others. In particular, foreign experts pay special attention to the fact that the territory of Moscow is almost completely covered with high-speed Internet (98.9%).
In November, the Global Cities Index 2024 rating of global cities was published. Moscow took the first place in it by the number of museums. The Russian capital surpassed all global cultural megacities, including London, Paris, Vienna, Rome, Rome, Barcelona, Beijing, Tokyo and New York. A total of 156 cities of the world were included in the rating.
Successes in applying AI and working with 3D projects
Two Moscow digital projects won the international BRICS Solutions Awards competition. The first place in the category “Platforms and Integrated Solutions for Government and Public Administration” went to the project “Digital Twin of the City of Moscow”. The platform is an exact 3D-copy of the Russian capital, displaying all buildings and structures, engineering and transportation communications. The project helps the city authorities to plan the construction of residential buildings and buildings for various purposes, make managerial decisions and control the implementation of socially significant urban projects.
And in the nomination “Artificial Intelligence and Digital Services” the leader was the project “Experiment on the use of innovative technologies in the field of computer vision to analyze medical images and further application in the health care system of the city of Moscow”. It is being implemented on the basis of the Center for Diagnostics and Telemedicine of the Moscow Department of Health with the support of the Moscow Department of Information Technologies. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), specialists process the results of CT, MRI, X-ray, fluorography and mammography. This improves the quality and speed of radiation diagnostics and reduces the burden on doctors.
Improving the environment and caring for the future
Last fall, the results of the Green Eurasia International Climate Contest were summarized. Several Moscow environmental projects became its winners and prize-winners.
Thus, regular river electric vessels took the first place in the nomination “Green Transportation”. And in the nomination “Climate Resilient Cities” a comprehensive plan to increase the resilience of the megacity in the conditions of climate change won. The document was developed by the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of Moscow. The second place in the category “Green Construction” was awarded to the project “Energy and Environmental Audit of the Efficiency of Green Technologies in Construction in the Moscow Region”. It helps analyze the efficiency of energy resources use and calculate the impact of buildings under construction on the capital's ecology.
The winner in the Low Carbon Energy category was the joint project of the Department of Economic Policy and Development of Moscow and PJSC Mosenergo “Big City Comfort: Heat Load Switching as the Basis for Moscow's Energy Efficiency”. It has been in operation since 2013. Thanks to it, heat loads are switched from boiler houses to Mosenergo CHPPs. As a result, fuel is saved, greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions are reduced, and the efficiency of the city's heat and power system as a whole is improved.
In addition, the Green Eurasia jury members awarded third place in the nomination “State strategies and practices in the climate sphere” to the project “Obtaining ESG status of the Moscow City Government” and the analytical report “Climate Agenda of the World's Cities”. ESG status is awarded by the Moscow City Government after evaluating an individual company on a variety of factors (business reputation, environmental and ecological impact, social package and many others). Any organization working in industry, transport, construction and real estate, catering and trade, telecommunications and communications, and other sectors of the economy can be assessed.
The report “Climate Agenda of the World's Cities” explores the main aspects of urban functioning in terms of its impact on climate (energy, transport, waste, green areas), as well as existing strategic policy documents of cities in the field of climate.
In November 2024, the capital's project to issue green bonds received international recognition. Moscow practice was recognized by UN-Habitat experts in the World Urban Report. In total, the annex to this document contains 25 most successful global practices that are aimed at combating climate change. UN-Habitat experts recognized green bonds as an innovative and effective practice through which the city finances measures to combat climate change.
Green bonds are a special type of securities that allow you to invest in a city environmental project without the risk of losing your money.
