Manchester’s National Football Museum, Titanic Belfast and the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth are among this year’s nominees for European Museum of the Year.

Whittled down from hundreds of entries, the three British venues are among the final 42 competing for the award. Previous winners include Scotland’s Museum of Transport, York’s National Railway Museum and last year’s winner – the Museum of Innocence in Turkey.

More than a million people have visited the National Football Museum since its move in 2012, while the Titanic Belfast also opened in 2012 at a cost of £97m (US$154.8m, €116.2m). The £35m (US$53m, €41m) Mary Rose Museum opened in May 2013 and is located at the same dockyard where the Tudor warship was originally built more than 500 years ago.

The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) was founded in 1977 with the aim of recognising excellence in the European museum scene and encouraging innovative processes. The prestigious award goes to the museum that contributes most directly to attracting audiences and satisfying its visitors with its unique atmosphere, imaginative interpretation and presentation, a creative approach to education and social responsibility.