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Heritage Lighthouse of the Year Award
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Heritage Lighthouse of the Year Award. This is your opportunity to place your most precious lighthouses in the spotlight and have your good work on conservation, public access and education recognised internationally. A Heritage Lighthouse is any lighthouse of cultural significance which goes beyond its current function and time. It does not have to be old!
Please download the nomination form and submit by 30 September 2025 to be considered for the 2026 accolade. The nomination form contains guidelines for completing the nomination.
Note: The Criteria have changed! Only nominations submitted after 30 September 2024 will be considered for IALA HLY 2026. Only 1 nomination per IALA member state will be considered.
Selection Criteria
IALA will consider the below criteria in their deliberations and so these should be considered by the person making a nomination.
Intrinsic Heritage Interest
The lighthouse’s architecture, features of interest, historic importance, associations, impact on culture, impact on world lighthouses and so on.
Conservation
The state of preservation of the lighthouse and the efforts that have been taken to conserve it. This may include alternative uses. The inside is every bit as important as the outside!
Public Access and Education
The efforts that have been made to maximise public access to a lighthouse and/or educating the public about the heritage of the lighthouse in question as well as the wider context of aids to navigation.
Other Considerations
Other factors that may further the interests of World Lighthouse Heritage.
For example where the accolade ‘IALA Heritage Lighthouse of the Year’ given to a particular lighthouse would raise the profile of lighthouse heritage in a particular country or region in such a way that would be likely to raise the profile of worldwide lighthouse heritage more generally.
Only nominations submitted in the preceding 12 months will be considered each year by ENG Working Group 3 (Heritage & Culture) at its October meeting for commendation to the December Council meeting. Only 1 nomination per member nation may be submitted each year. However you may re-submit a nomination for the same lighthouse in future years if you wish – who knows, it may be your year! Please see nomination form for more detailed guidance.
The 2020 Award presented to
Antônio da Barra Lighthouse, Brazil