On 24 March, the closing ceremony and prize-giving of the European Tree of the Year 2026 competition took place at the European Parliament in Brussels.

A recording of the ceremony can be watched on Youtube (Eiropas_gada_koks_noslegums).

This year, the vote on Europe's various trees and their stories was held for the first time under a different system.

The winner, a pedunculate oak from Lithuania (The Oak of Laukiai), was described by those who nominated it as a recently discovered local treasure, since a year ago the oak was known only to the residents of the nearby village (Rukai, Skodas district, further information about the oak). Second place went to the Old Wild Apple Tree (Old wild apple tree) from Slovakia, and third place to a European white elm, also known as the crooked elm (Crooked tree) from Poland.

As reported earlier, Latvia took part in the competition for the fifth time, with the treasure and pride of Valdemārpils and Talsi district – the Elku liepa placing fourth in the vote, the best result in five years. In Latvia, the competition was organised by the Forest Certification Council of Latvia and the Latvijas Meža īpašnieku biedrība.

Voting for the European Tree of the Year 2026 ran from 2 to 22 February, with the voting results never once being made public.

Information about the European Tree of the Year competition

Results