World News for Students of English

21-09-2026 15:00

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has unveiled ten shortlisted design concepts for future euro banknotes, selected from over 1,200 proposals.

The designs represent two main themes chosen to reflect European identity. The first theme focuses on prominent cultural figures in history, including artist Leonardo da Vinci, opera singer Maria Callas, scientist Marie Curie, and composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The second theme highlights nature and depicts various European bird species in river landscapes alongside major European Union institutions to emphasize Europe’s biodiversity and environmental protection.

For the first time, European citizens will participate in selecting the final theme through an online survey hosted on the central bank’s website. Following the public vote and final design selection, technical preparation and production stages will begin. The new banknotes, which will be worth from 5 to 500 euros, are expected to enter circulation starting from the end of 2026.

Difficult words: shortlisted (put on a small, final list of the best people or ideas chosen from a larger group), biodiversity (the variety of different types of plants, animals, and living things in a natural area), circulation (the movement of money as it is passed from person to person when buying and selling things).

You can watch the video news lower on this page.