City Nation Place has today announced Eastern City BID as a finalist in the ‘Best Placemaking Initiative’ category at the 12th City Nation Place Awards, recognising organisations that are setting the benchmark for excellence in place branding and place marketing.

Eastern City BID was shortlisted for its City Views project, which set out to enhance the visitor experience while celebrating the unique character of the Eastern City. Delivered in partnership with the London Festival of Architecture and the City of London Corporation,  the project was launched through the City Views design competition, inviting emerging designers to reimagine how people navigate and experience the City in response to the Festival’s 2025 theme, “Voices.”

Rather than commissioning traditional wayfinding signage, the brief sought an innovative approach that combined navigation, design and storytelling. The winning concept, created by bafalw and Red Collective, transformed wayfinding into a series of sculptural landmarks linking the Eastern City’s viewing galleries, encouraging visitors to pause, explore and engage more deeply with their surroundings.

The City Nation Place Awards celebrate cities, regions and nations that are successfully building clear, credible and inspiring narratives to attract visitors, businesses and investment. Winners will be announced on 5 November at the conclusion of the City Nation Place Global Conference in London.

The awards are judged by an international panel of place branding and marketing leaders. Chaired by Clare Dewhirst, Director of City Nation Place, the jury includes representatives from across 31 countries spanning seven continents, bringing a truly global perspective to the judging process.

“After twelve years of running the City Nation Place Awards, I’m still blown away by the creativity and innovation of place brand and marketing teams from around the world. Place branding and marketing is an incredibly demanding job, the importance of which is often severely underestimated. It’s an absolute pleasure to be able to celebrate the individuals and teams working tirelessly to support the growth and development of their cities, regions, and nations, and we look forward to giving them their much-deserved moment in the spotlight at the Awards Ceremony on November 5th.” Clare Dewhirst, CEO of City Nation Place.