Euro Gets a Makeover: Here’s What the New Banknotes Will Look Like

It’s a transformative time for our wallets which might take some getting used to. It has been 13 years since our banknotes underwent a redesign, which wasn’t much different from the initial design introduced in 2002. The current series of banknotes draws from the “Architectural Eras and Styles” theme: though you might not notice anymore, these banknotes feature designs like stained glass and columns on the front, and bridges (that don’t even exist in Europe) on the back. As the European Central Bank (ECB) strives to refresh our currency’s style every 10 to 15 years to enhance and especially complicate counterfeiting efforts, this time, it aims to make the banknotes “more appealing, evocative, and inclusive for all Europeans.”

Following a survey conducted across all member countries, two themes have been finalized: “European Culture” and “Rivers and Birds.” Now that the design contest has concluded, it’s up to the citizens to vote for their favorite design. The public has until September 21, 2026, to participate in the poll on the ECB’s website. While the final design for the new banknotes is yet to be determined, the contenders include 10 designs for each of the six denominations.

In the “European Culture” theme, the front features notable figures: Greek opera singer Maria Callas on the 5 euro note, German composer Ludwig van Beethoven on the 10 euro note, French-Polish physicist and chemist Marie Curie on the 20 euro note, Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra on the 50 euro note, Italian painter and inventor Leonardo da Vinci on the 100 euro note, and Austrian writer and activist Bertha von Suttner, the first female Nobel Peace Prize laureate, on the 200 euro note. The back will display scenes of street artists performing for passersby, a choir singing at a music festival, a teacher with young students in a school, people reading in a library, individuals admiring art, and people strolling through a public garden.

For the “Rivers and Birds” theme, the front depicts a mountain spring with a wallcreeper on the 5 euro note, a waterfall with a kingfisher on the 10 euro note, a river valley with a colony of European bee-eaters on the 20 euro note, river bends with a white stork on the 50 euro note, a river mouth with an avocet on the 100 euro note, and a seascape with a gannet on the 200 euro note. On the back, the major EU institutions are featured, namely the Parliament, the Commission, the Central Bank, the Court of Justice, the Council, and the Court of Auditors.

The final decision will be made by the end of 2026 by the ECB’s Governing Council, led by Christine Lagarde, following the public vote. As of now, the release date for the new banknotes has not been set. It will be “several more years” before they are in circulation, not expected before 2029 or 2030.