Wall Street Journal and Citi Announce Medellín Wins ‘City of the Year’ Global Competition

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Wall Street Journal and Citi announced today that Medellín, Colombia, is the winner of the “City of the Year” competition, a global advertising program developed in partnership with The Urban Land Institute to recognize the most innovative urban centers. More than 980,000 online votes were cast during the program.

“We are committed to supporting the growth of Latin America, particularly vibrant and innovative cities like Medellín. We are pleased to sponsor the City of the Year competition, and congratulate Medellín on this global recognition.”

The program, developed by The Wall Street Journal advertising, sales and marketing department and sponsored by Citi, launched in June 2012 with a list of 200 cities compiled by the Urban Land Institute. Cities were selected based on eight criteria: Environment & Land Use, Culture & Livability, Economic / Investment Climate, Progress & Potential, Places of Power, Education & Human Capital, Technology & Research and Mobility & Infrastructure. Consumers were invited to vote online at wsj.com/ad/cityoftheyear. The three finalist cities were Medellín, Tel Aviv and New York City.

“For over 200 years, Citi's mission has been to enable progress," said Francisco Aristeguieta, CEO, Citi Latin America. "We are committed to supporting the growth of Latin America, particularly vibrant and innovative cities like Medellín. We are pleased to sponsor the City of the Year competition, and congratulate Medellín on this global recognition.”

“The City of the Year program fostered dialogue among Journal readers and consumers and engaged the most powerful and influential audience in the world,” said Anthony Cenname, Publisher of WSJ. Magazine.

“Medellín stands today as an example for many cities around the world, because despite having lived very dark and difficult times 20 years ago we have been undergoing a true metamorphosis. Going from pain and fear to hope, and now from hope to be a place filled with life, the city has known how to innovate in every step, both in social programs, urban developments or the combination of both and this has been key in the success of this process. In this sense, I would like to thank Citi, The Wall Street Journal and the Urban Land Institute for allowing us through the City of the Year to show to the world the things that are happening here and the tremendous challenges that lie ahead,” said Mayor Aníbal Gaviria.

“Thanks to the innovative and forward thinking of its people, Medellín is a city in transformation and is improving the quality of life of its inhabitants,” said Bernardo Noreña, President, Citi Colombia. “With this recognition, Medellín positions itself as a leading international city in terms of its potential, progress and innovation.”

Through Citi for Cities and other initiatives, Citi is helping to transform the ways in which cities operate and develop by helping to enhance public services, facilitate commerce, expand financial inclusion and harness advances in digital, mobile and card technologies.

Additional program details are available at: wsj.com/ad/cityoftheyear.

About Citi:

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

About The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal is the world's leading business publication with more than two million subscribers and is the largest U.S. newspaper by total paid circulation. The Wall Street Journal franchise comprises The Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal Asia, The Wall Street Journal Europe, and The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, the leading provider of business and financial news and analysis on the Web with more than one million digital subscribers and 36 million visitors per month worldwide. WSJ.com is the flagship site of The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, which also includes MarketWatch.com, Barrons.com,AllThingsD.com and SmartMoney.com. The Journal holds 34 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism, and, in 2012, was ranked No. 1 in BtoB's Media Power 50 for the 12th consecutive year.

About the Urban Land Institute

The Urban Land Institute (www.uli.org/) is a global nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has nearly 30,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. Additional information may be found at www.uli.org