The Foundation is promoting the “Anti Rei Jaume I Prizes” campaign to highlight the obstacles that hold back scientific and entrepreneurial talent

• A total of 25 Nobel laureates will sit on the jury for this year’s awards, the highest number in the awards’ history.
• A total of 240 nominations have been submitted this year for the 2026 Rei Jaume I Prizes, of which 28 per cent are from women.

On 1 and 2 June, the traditional Jury Meeting will be held in Valencia to select the seven winners of the 38th Rei Jaume I Prizes 2026 in the following categories: Basic Research, Economics, Biomedical Research, Clinical Research and Public Health, Environmental Protection, New Technologies and Entrepreneurial Revelation.

The chief executive and secretary, Javier Quesada, and the president of the Fundación Valenciana Premios Rei Jaume I, Vicente Boluda, were responsible for announcing the latest developments for this year’s edition.

During his speech, Vicente Boluda emphasised that “this will be the edition with the highest number of Nobel Laureates ever to sit on the juries, with a total of 25”, thereby cementing the Rei Jaume I Prizes’ status as “the largest gathering of Nobel Laureates in Europe at an event of this kind”.

Boluda also highlighted as one of this year’s new developments that “Valencia City Council will host an official reception for the Nobel Laureates and members of the jury, thereby strengthening the city’s ties with science, research and entrepreneurship”.

This year’s jury will comprise around a hundred people, including 25 Nobel Laureates from various disciplines. Among the international laureates attending for the first time this year are Dr Benjamin List, winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (Germany), and Dr Gary Ruvkun, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine (United States).

Furthermore, the Foundation wished to highlight the role played by the Advisory Council, the advisory body for the Rei Jaume I Prizes, which brings together leading figures from the scientific, academic and business communities and which will meet again during the Jury Meeting.

240 nominations are in the running for the prizes

A total of 240 people are in the running this year to become one of the seven winners of the Rei Jaume I Prizes, which are dedicated to promoting research, science and entrepreneurship in Spain. Of these, 67 are women, representing around 28 per cent of the total.

By category, Basic Research has received 44 nominations; New Technologies and Entrepreneurial Revelation have 42 nominations each; Clinical Research and Public Health have 33; Biomedical Research has 32; Environmental Protection has 31; and Economics has 16 nominations.

Visits to research centres and support for local authorities affected by the cold front

As every year, as part of the programme of events for the Nobel Prizes, the members of the jury will visit various research centres, universities and institutes in the Comunitat Valenciana.

Furthermore, this year they will once again visit a school affected by the 2024 DANA. On this occasion, Nobel Laureate Barry Barish will visit the IES Salvador Gadea in Aldaia, where he will be able to share his experiences with pupils and staff.

Monday’s programme will also include the traditional lunch attended by Nobel Laureates, juries and young PhD students and postgraduates from Valencian universities, as well as a number of symposia focusing on economics, biomedicine and the basic sciences.

As a new feature of this year’s event, the Mayor of Valencia will host an official reception at the City Hall for the Nobel Laureates and members of the jury, followed by a guided tour of the City Hall building.

The following day, 2 June, the programme will remain unchanged from previous years; the day will begin at the High Readiness Land Forces Headquarters (CGTAD), formerly the General Command, with the reading of the “Jury Declaration”. This will be followed by the jury meetings, during which they will deliberate on the seven winners of the 38th edition. Afterwards, the winners will be announced at the Palau de la Generalitat.

‘Anti-Rei Jaume I Prizes’ campaign

To coincide with the 38th edition of the event, the Foundation has also unveiled this year’s creative campaign, based on the concept of the ‘Anti Rei Jaume I Prizes’.

The initiative aims to highlight the difficulties and obstacles still faced by scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs in Spain, focusing on issues such as a lack of funding, job insecurity and the brain drain.

“We have been recognising talent and calling for greater support for science and entrepreneurship for almost 40 years. This year, we wanted to turn that approach on its head and highlight precisely what is holding that talent back,” explained Javier Quesada.

The campaign uses the figure of Rei Jaume I as its symbol, coinciding with the 750th anniversary of his death, although reinterpreted from a critical perspective. “Whilst we usually depict Rei Jaume I on horseback, this year we wanted to show exactly the opposite: the burden and difficulties faced by our scientists and Entrepreneurs in carrying out their projects,” said Quesada.

“I hope these anti-prizes won’t be held again, because that would mean that, at last, we would have secured the support and visibility that science and entrepreneurship deserve,” he concluded