These 50 Champion Cities represent the boldest urban innovations of the past year, and are advancing to the finalist stage of the 2021 Global Mayors Challenge, a worldwide innovation competition that encourages and spreads the cities’ most promising ideas generated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 50 cities hail from 29 countries on 6 continents, and hail from a highly competitive applicant pool: Mayors from 631 cities in 99 countries submitted their most promising ideas for consideration which is nearly twice the number of cities that applied in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ last Mayors Challenge, held in the United States in 2018.

From racial justice to social inclusion to public health and infrastructure, learn more about the 2021 finalists’ ideas.