We Love Cities is WWF's global public engagement campaign designed to celebrate and amplify cities' climate action.

Through social media and digital engagement, the campaign helps cities showcase their progress, gain valuable feedback, and inspire local pride.

In 2024, millions of citizens participated, creating visibility for climate solutions worldwide.

1. Ride the wave of global success — Join a proven campaign that connects cities and millions of citizens worldwide.

2. Power climate action with engagement — Tap into citizen potential through a positive, friendly competition.

3. Elevate your city's recognition — Gain national and global visibility via WWF's channels.

4. Maximize impact cost-effectively — Benefit from WWF-funded ads and expert campaign materials.

5. Strengthen dialogue, ignite change — Receive tailored citizen feedback and insights for lasting impact.

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To learn more and share with colleagues, download a presentation below describing the five reasons in further detail.

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Application deadline: January 14, 2026

Participants are determined: April 2026

Campaign period: October 31 - November 30, 2026

To make the We Love Cities campaign a success, your city's sustainability and communications teams, along with leadership, need to work together to ensure alignment and resources for effective engagement.

This means bringing in your communications department early, securing leadership support, and planning how to activate your channels.

In addition, we'll need a photo that can be turned into a personalized campaign icon, and your approval of the profile text and final icon before launch.

Click the thumbnail for more city examples on YouTube:

Click the thumbnails to watch on YouTube:

Who can participate?

Cities that perform well in the One Planet City Challenge (OPCC) are eligible. For 2026, WWF will invite up to 35 high-performing cities. All OPCC cities will receive an invitation to apply for participation, and final selection will be based on OPCC results and demonstrated interest. This ensures that participating cities have strong climate action plans and are committed to citizen engagement. 

What resources will WWF provide?

WWF offers practical support to help cities run effective campaigns:

• Guidance: Public engagement webinars, FAQs, and best practices from previous campaigns.
• Campaign materials: Templates for social media posts, banners, posters, and ideas for copy.
• Visibility: WWF-funded social media ads to boost reach, and a city profile on the We Love Cities website to highlight aspects of the city's climate action plan and inviting citizens to give their feedback and share what they love about their city.
• Branding: A custom city icon featuring an iconic landmark with the We Love Cities design. Plus, the global recognition of WWF's trusted brand to boost engagement. However, because the city's icon is WWF branded, it remains part of the We Love Cities campaign. We ask the cities to not use it outside of the campaign.

What happens during the campaign?

The campaign runs for four weeks, starting October 31, 2026 (World Cities Day) and ending on November 30, 2026. During the campaign, cities share posts on social media using #WeLove[CityName] and invite citizens to vote and give feedback on the We Love Cities website. Cities also coordinate with their communications teams and may host local events to boost participation, while WWF promotes the campaign globally and tracks engagement.

The goal is to celebrate climate action and strengthen dialogue between cities and citizens. And the result depends on how much time the city itself has to engage with the campaign.

How does the voting work?

During the We Love Cities campaign, citizens can show support for their city in several ways. First, they can vote directly on their city's profile page at welovecities.org or submit feedback there - both count as votes.

Social media engagement also matters: likes, shares, and comments on posts from the city's official accounts using the campaign hashtag (e.g., #WeLoveStockholm) are tracked as votes. Citizens can even create their own posts with the hashtag, and any engagement on these posts counts too.

To ensure fairness between large and small cities, WWF uses a balanced algorithm that considers both the number of votes and city population size when determining the winner.

What happens after the campaign ends?

After the campaign closes, WWF announces the most loved city based on engagement and votes adjusted for city size. We also prepare a report for each city, including social media insights and citizen feedback for each thematic area. Additionally, WWF shares ideas on how to build on the momentum, and keep engaging citizens beyond the campaign.

We Love Cities is more than a competition, it's about sparking joy, pride, and dialogue between cities and citizens. Public engagement isn't a one-time event; it's an ongoing process of listening, responding, and collaborating. Our goal is to help cities use the enthusiasm generated during the campaign to strengthen long-term climate action and citizen involvement.