Doukas presented the award to Sánchez during their meeting at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on Tuesday, 29 September. The award was formally presented on Wednesday at the Stoa of Attalos as part of the Athens Democracy Forum 2026, where a recorded message from Sánchez was shown.

‘Athens awarded the Democracy Prize to Pedro Sánchez. His political courage is at the heart of this award. An easy word in speeches. Much more difficult in decisions. Because political courage is not defending a principle when everyone agrees with you. It is defending it when there is pressure, threats and a cost,’ Doukas said.

‘On Iran, he refused the use of Spanish bases for military operations, recalling something fundamental: alliance does not mean submission. He recognised the Palestinian state and openly denounced the genocide in Gaza. And he did not hesitate to set rules for the “techno-oligarchs”, reminding us that the future of artificial intelligence cannot be left in the hands of a powerful few.

‘One day, future generations will ask us: What did we do when some broke the rules and others turned a blind eye? What did we do when standing up for what we believed in began to cost us? And then we will need to have an answer. Not for what we said, but for what we did. Pedro Sánchez gave his: “We do not stop fighting.” For Athens, the city that gave birth to democracy, this fight is constant.’

In his recorded message, Sánchez said:

‘It is a great honour for me to receive the City of Athens Democracy Award 2026. I accept this recognition with immense gratitude and deep humility. Disinformation, geopolitical tensions, growing uncertainty: all of this tests the trust of our citizens and the resilience of our institutions.

‘We know that democracy becomes stronger when people participate, when their rights are protected and when governments listen to citizens and serve them. For this reason, I do not receive this award as a personal honour. I receive it on behalf of those who renew democracy every day and rarely receive an award for it: public servants, elected representatives, civil society, journalists, academics and citizens who still believe that their voice matters. They keep the flame burning.’

In 2018, Sánchez opened Spanish ports to the Aquarius, which was carrying more than 600 people rescued in the Mediterranean, a move for which he was praised by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The City of Athens Democracy Award is presented by the Municipality of Athens to individuals and organisations that have contributed to the defence of democracy, human dignity, freedom and the rule of law.

The award is presented as part of the Athens Democracy Forum, an international initiative of the Democracy & Culture Foundation organised in collaboration with the Kofi Annan Foundation and the Municipality of Athens, in partnership with The New York Times.

This year’s award is the sculpture Foundations of Democracy by Myrto Kapnisti, a senior student at the Athens School of Fine Arts. Made of engineering resin on a base of white Pentelic marble, the work represents eight fundamental values of democracy: freedom, equality, justice, solidarity, equality, the rule of law, citizen participation in public affairs and the separation of powers.

In 2025, the award was presented to Israeli journalist Gideon Levy.

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