The Orio Town Council has received dual recognition in Brussels, earning two silver medals at the prestigious European Capital of Inclusion and Diversity Awards. The municipality was nominated in two categories for the final: local entities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants and the special award for inclusive trade, achieving second place in both.

In the category for municipalities under 50,000 inhabitants, Orio was a finalist alongside four other municipalities, including Azpeitia and Errenteria from Gipuzkoa. Ultimately, Errenteria claimed the gold medal, Orio the silver, and San Xoan de Rio from Galicia the bronze. For the special award for inclusive trade, Errenteria also took first prize, Orio second, and Milan from Italy third.

These awards, promoted by the European Commission, aim to acknowledge and value the efforts of municipalities in fostering equality, inclusion, and diversity. The Commission stated that Orio was selected among the finalists for its "significant contributions to diversity and inclusion." The awards highlight local best practices that treat diversity as a source of richness and innovation, particularly in areas such as sex, age, disability, LGTBIQ+ identity, religion or beliefs, and ethnic or racial origin.

The Orio Town Council emphasized that merely being among the European finalists represents an "important international recognition," stemming from "the work carried out in the municipality in recent years in favor of equality, care, diversity, and inclusion." Orio's candidacy was based on three main projects and lines of work: the Parrilla Festa, launched last autumn; the Bizitza Askeak Plazer strategy against violence, presented in November; and the Saregile women's house, active since 2023. These initiatives aim to strengthen Orio as a vibrant, open, and cohesive community, blending tradition and innovation, care and participation, heritage and future.