Blue Flags 2026: Liguria leads as the award shifts focus to sustainability

The 2026 edition of the Blue Flags, granted by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), highlights a change of emphasis: clean waters alone are no longer sufficient. The award increasingly evaluates overall territorial quality and local authorities' planning capacity.

• Municipalities awarded: 257 (eleven more than in 2025).
• Certified beaches: 525.
• Recognized marinas: 87.
• Top region: Liguria, with 35 Blue Flags.
• Runners-up: Apulia (Puglia) and Calabria, each with 27 recognitions.

FEE has tightened the criteria: besides water quality, requirements now include wastewater treatment, recycling, accessibility, sustainable mobility and environmental education. For the second consecutive year, all candidates submitted a Sustainability Action Plan for the 2025–2027 period, covering five macro-objectives: sustainable mobility, resilient cities, land environment protection, marine ecosystem conservation and climate change mitigation.

New entries include varied and well-known destinations: Rimini, Monte Argentario, Andora, Taggia, Lipari, Teulada, and several new towns in Calabria (Amendolara, Montegiordano, Falerna, Locri). Limone sul Garda is the new lakeside awardee. There are also notable losses, reflecting stricter standards: San Felice Circeo, Patù and Castrignano del Capo lost the flag.

The findings underline how the Blue Flag has become a tool of territorial governance: beyond signalling clean seas, it certifies public investments and policies aimed at quality of life and coastal resilience.