On 21 March, the closing ceremony and awards presentation for the European Tree of the Year 2023 competition took place at the European Parliament in Brussels (press release in English). A recording of the ceremony is available to watch on YouTube (Ceremony).

While the 2022 vote saw the highest number of participants in the competition's history at 769,212, this year there has been a significant drop in voter turnout to 177,486 this year.

The winner, Oak Fabrikant (Oak Fabrykant, Łódź, Poland, more about the Oak Fabrikant), received 179,317 votes. Second place in the 2023 vote went to the Dragon Oak from Slovakia (18,198 votes), and third place to the Krolewiec Forest Apple Tree from Ukraine (14,219 votes).

Latvia participated in the competition for the second time, with our Sēja Oak successfully securing 6,005 votes. The competition in Latvia was organised by the Forest Certification Council of Latvia and the Latvian Forest Owners' Association, with active involvement from the Saulkrasti Municipal Council. It should be noted that the voting took place from 1 to 28 February, and in accordance with the rules, the voting results were hidden from 21 February onwards.

The closing event, much like last year, featured plenty of speeches, all of which shared a common trait: they were brief with a few striking sentences. For instance, the European Tree of the Year competition was compared to the presentation of the Oscars in the film industry (though the European film award is, in fact, the César), while a Czech Member of the European Parliament figuratively remarked that while there are many trees in European forests, the trees entered into the competition are solitary trees—they have grown grand and mighty, yet they are typically located apart from larger forest stands.

Representatives from the winning country, Poland, including those from the Łódź municipality, like other speakers, emphasised the importance of solving climate issues, as well as the significance of forests and trees in the 21st century; alongside their joy over the win, they highlighted the city's move towards climate neutrality. Representatives for the second-place winner from Slovakia emphasised in a private conversation the need to protect the Dragon Oak, as various local development plans are being considered dangerously close to the tree, which may leave no room for it. Ukraine was represented at the closing ceremony by the Deputy Head of the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union, who stressed several crucial points: the ongoing Russian aggression, the country's participation in the competition as a measure of Ukraine's belonging to the family of European nations, and a reminder that the Krolewiec Forest Apple Tree has survived two world wars, the Holodomor, and now everything that has been happening since 24 February 2022.

Information about the European Tree of the Year 2023 competition