Eurostars Grand Marina Photography Award — international photography competition in Barcelona with a €5,000 prize
Barcelona’s architecture has long been a visual language in its own right – from Gaudí’s Modernism to contemporary urban spaces. This is the theme of the Eurostars Grand Marina Photography Award 2026, an international photography competition inviting photographers from around the world to create original triptychs depicting Barcelona as the world capital of architecture.
In 2026, Barcelona was designated the UNESCO World Capital of Architecture. The competition also coincides with two significant anniversaries — the centenary of the death of Antoni Gaudí and the 150th anniversary of the death of Ildefons Serdà, the architect behind the famous plan for the expansion of Barcelona.
The organisers are looking for series that can showcase the city’s architecture not only as a tourist image, but also as a space of urban memory, modernity, rhythm and visual transformation.
What to submit
Participants must create photo triptychs — series of three images linked by a common visual and conceptual theme.
Each participant may submit up to three series. All images must be:
— square in format;
— combined into a single horizontal layout;
— in JPG format;
— between 1 and 6 MB in size per image.
The organisers specifically emphasise that images created or edited using artificial intelligence are not eligible for entry.
Who is the competition for
Both professional photographers and amateurs aged 18 or over, of any nationality, are eligible to enter.
The competition is particularly suited to photographers working in the following areas
— architectural photography;
— urban environments;
— visual explorations of space;
— contemporary fine art photography;
— visual storytelling;
— serial photography.
The photo triptych format emphasises not a single individual frame, but the visual connection between the images, the rhythm and the development of the series as an independent artistic statement.
Competition prizes
The overall winner will receive:
— €5,000 and the Eurostars Grand Marina Photography Award trophy.
Second place:
— €3,000 and a special prize from the Hotusa Group.
In addition, the organisers will select:
— 8 finalists, who will receive trophies and free accommodation at hotels in the Eurostars Hotel Company chain.
The winners’ works will also be used to decorate spaces and hotels within the Eurostars chain.
Important points to note
The competition only accepts works that have not been previously published or sold.
Once the results have been announced, winners and finalists must provide high-resolution images for printing and exhibition purposes.
The organisers also receive the right to use the winning works in exhibitions, publications and Hotusa Group spaces with mandatory attribution to the authors.
Why this competition is worth following
The Eurostars Grand Marina Photography Award has been running for over twenty years and remains one of the most prominent international photography competitions focusing on architectural and artistic photography.
For many photographers, the combination of several factors makes it particularly appealing: an international theme, a substantial cash prize, exhibition visibility, and the opportunity to work not with a single photograph but with a full-fledged visual series.
An additional feature of the competition is the context of Barcelona itself — a city where architecture forms part of the cultural identity and visual experience.
The deadline for applications is 20 October 2026.
