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More than six million people have reportedly taken part in a public vote on the future look of euro banknotes, including whether the €5 note should feature Maria Callas, the American-born Greek soprano, or a nature-themed design.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has opened a survey until September 21, 2026, as part of the first full redesign of euro banknotes since they entered circulation in 2002.
The vote asks Europeans to give feedback on ten shortlisted design proposals covering two rival themes: "European culture" and "Rivers and birds." Under the culture theme, Callas would appear on the €5 note for performing arts, composer Ludwig van Beethoven on the €10 note for music, scientist Marie Curie Skłodowska on the €20 note for universities and schools, author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra on the €50 note for libraries, artist Leonardo da Vinci on the €100 note for museums and exhibitions, and author Bertha von Suttner on the €200 note for public squares.
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The nature alternative would put European birds and river habitats on the front of the notes, paired with European Union institutions on the reverse. The €5 design would show a mountain spring and a wallcreeper, while other denominations include a kingfisher, bee-eaters, a white stork, an avocet and a northern gannet.
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The ECB said the shortlisted designs came from a European Union-wide contest that attracted more than 1,200 applications from graphic designers. Twenty-five designers were invited to develop proposals before an independent jury of 21 experts shortlisted ten designs. The ECB Governing Council is expected to choose one proposal around the end of 2026.
ECB President Christine Lagarde said euro banknotes are "more than a means of payment" and are "one of the most tangible expressions of Europe."
Who Is Maria Callas?
Callas, who died in Paris in 1977, was an American-born Greek operatic soprano renowned for dramatic and lyrical versatility, and as one of opera’s most iconic and influential singers.
Born Anna Maria Sophia Cecilia Kalogeropoulou in Manhattan, New York, on December 2, 1923, to Greek parents, she moved to Athens with her mother and sister in 1937, studied at the National Conservatory and Athens Conservatory, and took her first leading role as Tosca in Puccini’s opera in 1942.
Her international career began in 1947 with a performance in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda, and she made her official La Scala debut in Milan in 1951.
Callas traveled to the U.S. in the late 1950s to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Most of her recordings were made in Europe.
Every Euro Bank Note Redesign—How Would You Vote?
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What Happens Next?
The ECB survey is open until September 21, 2026, alongside a separate representative poll of euro area citizens. The Governing Council is expected to choose the final design around the end of 2026, using the surveys, jury conclusions and a technical review.
The notes will not enter circulation immediately. The winning design must still be developed, tested and produced, and existing euro notes will remain valid.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Cannon and Trevor Davies.
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