This is Bristol --WE'VE won it. And Bristol being named European Green Capital for 2015 on Friday kicked off an environmental extravaganza in the city.
While the green capital bid team and the business community celebrated an award that they hope will bring millions to the city in new investment and create hundreds of new jobs, the ordinary citizens of Bristol proved their green credentials.
Thousands took part in Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride yesterday morning, with many also visiting the Harbourside to mark the start of the week-long Festival of Nature.
And as this is Bristol's Big Green Week, it was a perfect time for the European Green Capital judges to give Bristol the award, the happy news being relayed to the delighted bid team members at the Mshed Museum from Nantes on Friday night. The city's mayor, George Ferguson, who was in Nantes to hear Bristol named the winner ahead of fellow shortlisted cities Brussels, Glasgow and Ljubljana, says the city will now become a role model for putting new environmentally- friendly ideas into practice.
It was the third time Bristol had been shortlisted for the title, having missed out to Copenhagen last year and also been a finalist in 2010.
Colin Skellett, chairman of the West of England LEP, spoke on behalf of the business community.
He said: "Winning the status of European Green Capital in 2015 is fantastic news for Bristol and the whole region. It will enhance our reputation as a centre for green business and green thinking and action and I believe it will be worth many millions to our economy.
"We already have world-leading expertise and businesses in the city and the region such as Garrad Hassan and The Soil Association working on the global challenges we face across energy, waste, water, food and low carbon business is a recognised priority area of growth for our economy. What a perfect start to Bristol's Big Green Week!"
Mr Ferguson said the city will become a "laboratory for change" as pioneering ideas are put into action in the run-up to 2015, when it will hold the title, and beyond.
He said: "This award could be worth tens of millions of pounds to the city – helping to lever in additional funding and investment and reinforcing our position as a hub for green business."
A £2 million injection of funding, announced by cabinet councillor for neighbourhoods and environment Gus Hoyt, will help spread new ideas for green community projects including fitting entire streets with solar panels and setting up shared gardens to grow food.
Half of the money will come from council funds and the rest will come from partners in the Green Capital project, including city businesses.
The European Green Capital Award aims to recognise cities that consistently achieve high environmental standards and are committed to further improvement.
The judges, from a panel drawn from organisations including the European Commission, said the city had been recognised "for its investment plans in the areas of transport and energy, and especially for its commitment to act as a true role model for the green economy in Europe and beyond".
Mr Ferguson said the award "demonstrates Bristol's ambition to be a pioneering green city and is recognition for the many years of hard work and dedication by the city council, businesses and the people of Bristol to make our city more environmentally friendly".
He added: "We will now be turning our attention to staging an inspiring programme of events in 2015, which will be centred around the idea of Bristol as a 'Laboratory for Change'.
"I have offered Bristol as a test-bed for environmental ideas in 2015, where we will develop pioneering practices which will not only benefit Bristol, but will hopefully become a model for cities around the world."
The council spent £47,000 on preparing the bid but Mr Hoyt, right, said that money would be far outweighed by the benefits the title would bring.
He said: "We have to make 2015 truly benefit everyone's lives in the city.
"If we fail to do that we will have failed as a green capital. It can't just be nice fluffy events to feel good about ourselves – we have to enact change for everyone who lives in the city."
At a cabinet meeting on June 26 Mr Hoyt will put plans to spend £1 million of council money, identified from money which was not spent last year, towards efforts to help people set up their own green schemes in the city's neighbourhoods.
The £1 million will be matched from other sources.
Mr Hoyt, Green Party councillor for Ashley, said the title would add to Bristol's case in arguing for more public transport funding for projects such as electrification of rail services and transforming the bus network.
And its benefits to the city's economy could be "endless" if it persuades businesses specialising in environmental technology to either move to or set up in the city.
He said: "Bristol is going to be the focus for green initiatives and drives, not just in 2015 but in the years leading up to it. All major government initiatives investing in the green economy should automatically look to Bristol."
Liz Zeidler, the vice chair of Bristol Green Capital Partnership and director of the Happy City initiative, helped bring together hundreds of organisations to show the bid judges how grassroots projects were improving the city's environment.
Mrs Zeidler said: "We spend an awful lot of time complaining about our city – this gives us a chance to celebrate it."
Savita Custead, the chief executive of the Bristol Natural History Consortium, said the green capital award would improve the city's status across the continent.
She said: "The award is truly respected in Europe. Other cities who have won it become role models.
"Some people think Bristol hides its successes but we can't do that anymore, we're in the spotlight now."
The University of the West of England was one of many organisations backing the bid.
UWE Professor Martin Bigg, the chairman of the Bristol Green Capital Partnership, said: "I am very pleased to be working with business and community groups and the universities to make Bristol a low carbon city with a high quality of life for all."
Bonnie Dean, chief executive at the Bristol & Bath Science Park, said: "This award catapults Bristol's many green achievements onto an international stage and will make the Bristol and Bath region all the more attractive to overseas investors." Reported by This is 12 hours ago.