• The supporting program for the 75th Charlemagne Prize anniversary begins exactly one month before the award ceremony and includes over 40 events, projects and performances.
• Mayor Sibylle Keupen praised the supporting program as "one with a lot of depth, in a wide variety of formats and as colourful as Europe".
• All dates of the Charlemagne Prize framework program can be found as a PDF at www.aachen.de/karlspreis and www.karlspreis.de as well as in the form of a printed brochure at the usual distribution points in the city.

On Ascension Day, May 29, the President of the European Commission, Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, will be awarded the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen in the Coronation Hall of the City Hall. As in previous years, the City of Aachen and those responsible for the Charlemagne Prize have put together an extensive supporting program in the run-up to the award ceremony, which is intended to prepare for the presentation of the Charlemagne Prize. Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen and Dr. Jürgen Linden, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Society for the Conferring of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen, presented the current program today (28 April 2025) at a press conference in Haus Löwenstein.

With Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Charlemagne Prize Board of Directors honors "an outstanding leader, a strong voice of Europe in the world, who powerfully represents the interests of the EU and its friends". The supporting program invites all citizens to discuss "what kind of Europe we want, how we want to develop the EU and make it fit for the future". Important current topics will be addressed, such as the Green Deal and the handling of artificial intelligence, competitiveness, the Union's international responsibility and the transatlantic relationship.

An integral part of the Charlemagne Prize

The supporting program for the Charlemagne Prize ceremony has been an integral part of the Charlemagne Prize since 1991. This is the 35th supporting program for the 75th anniversary of the Charlemagne Prize. It begins exactly one month before the award ceremony and comprises over 40 events, projects and performances. In total, well over 1,000 program items have been conceived and implemented to date, including the countries of (then) Czechoslovakia, France, Spain, Norway, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Great Britain, the USA, Hungary, the Vatican, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, Belarus and Germany.

Existential challenges

Dr. Jürgen Linden emphasized in the press conference that Europe is currently still facing many existential challenges. He said: "There is still a war going on, while at the same time the transatlantic relationship is breaking down - with consequences for global trade and every single citizen. The competitiveness of the European Union is too weak to hold its own on the world market. We are seeing an increase in anti-European tendencies within the EU. These are all topics and aspects that we have incorporated into the supporting program for this year's Charlemagne Prize ceremony."

"As colorful as Europe"

Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen praised the supporting program as "one with a lot of depth, in a wide variety of formats and as colourful as Europe". According to Sibylle Keupen, it was important to her that the political question of Europe was the focus of the program on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Charlemagne Prize: "Where else, if not in Aachen, can the future of Europe be discussed, rooted and driven forward?"

European Charlemagne Prize for Youth

Two days before the presentation of the International Charlemagne Prize, the European Charlemagne Prize for Youth, which is endowed with a total of 15,000 euros, will once again be awarded on May 27. Within the framework of the competition previously announced by the European Parliament and the Charlemagne Prize Foundation

Hundreds of young people from all EU member states applied for the award with a record number of over 600 projects that contribute to European and international understanding.

The Charlemagne Prize winner at RWTH Aachen University

Traditionally, the designated award winners visit RWTH Aachen University on the day before the award ceremony. Ursula von der Leyen will also speak on May 28 in the auditorium of the TH main building and seek dialog. Prepared by students of the "Leonardo" project of RWTH Aachen University and the European University Alliance ENHANCE, the visit promises to be a special encounter with the President of the European Commission.

Charlemagne Prize LIVE

The large open-air event on the Katschhof, "Charlemagne Prize Live", is one of the firm traditions of the supporting program. This year, the people of Aachen and their guests are once again invited to a varied program on the day before the ceremony. On Wednesday afternoon, numerous information stands on European topics will open on the Katschhof, as well as the magic stand of "magic inside" for the first time.

Encounter on the Katschhof stage

In the early evening, this year's Youth Charlemagne Prize winners will be presented to the public and will meet the designated Charlemagne Prize winner 2025, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who will answer questions from the editor-in-chief of the Aachener Zeitung, Thomas Thelen, on the Katschhof stage. Afterwards, guests can enjoy a musical evening with singer-songwriter Gregor Meyle at the Katschhof.

The award ceremony on Ascension Day can be followed on a video screen on the market from 11.15 am. After the conclusion of the ceremony and a musical welcome by the Christoph Leuchter Quartet, the Chairman of the Charlemagne Prize Board of Directors, Dr. Jürgen Linden, and Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen will receive President Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, other Charlemagne Prize winners and guests of state and honor on the stage at Katschhof. A varied program with music by the Christoph Leuchter Quartet, ORAKY, Solid Ground, Herrmanns and KTK will follow until late in the evening.

The Charlemagne Prize online

All dates of the Charlemagne Prize framework program can be found as a PDF at www.aachen.de/karlspreis and www.karlspreis.de as well as in the form of a printed brochure at the usual distribution points in the city.

The Charlemagne Prize can also be found on the following social media channels:

Instagram: @karlspreis_ac / @stadtaachen

X (formerly Twitter) @KarlspreisAC

LinkedIn: Charlemagne Prize (linkedin.com/company/karlspreis) / https://de.linkedin.com/company/stadt-aachen

Facebook: @IntlKarlspreis / @unseraachen

The official hashtag on all channels is: #karlspreis2025