THE ‘GOLDEN TICKET’ AWARDS
THE OSCARS OF THE INTERNATIONAL EVENTS INDUSTRY
JOIN US FOR THE 2026 GOLDEN TICKET AWARDS: CENTRAL LONDON (UK), 11 DECEMBER 2026 (VENUE TBC).
AWARD CATEGORIES
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Recognises events and festivals that demonstrates exceptional achievement across concept, design, delivery, and impact - aligned to CEF’s Professional Standards. This award honours an event that exemplifies best practice, creates meaningful value for its audiences and stakeholders, and makes a distinguished contribution to the advancement of the global events and festivals sector.
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Celebrates outstanding event directorship, leadership and strategic excellence by an individual responsible for guiding an event or organisation. The award acknowledges exceptional decision-making, operational oversight, innovation, team leadership, and the successful realisation of a compelling vision - aligned to CEF’s Professional Standards.
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Celebrates outstanding executive leadership and strategic excellence by an individual responsible for guiding an event or organisation. The award acknowledges exceptional decision-making, operational oversight, innovation, team leadership, and the successful realisation of a compelling vision - aligned to CEF’s Professional Standards.
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Honours individuals whose career has made a profound and sustained contribution to the events and festivals industry. This award recognises exceptional influence, long-term commitment, sector leadership, mentorship, and enduring impact at national or international levels - aligned to CEF’s Professional Standards.
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Awarded to academics who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, supervision, and engagement with the events and festivals industry. This category acknowledges significant contributions to knowledge, student development, and strengthening the connection between academia and practice - aligned to CEF’s Professional Standards.
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Recognises high-quality research that advances understanding of events, their impacts, audiences, operations, or societal value. The award is given to research that demonstrates methodological rigour, originality, and clear relevance to professional practice or policy - aligned to CEF’s Professional Standards.
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Celebrates emerging professionals who have demonstrated exceptional promise, creativity, leadership potential, and meaningful early-career contributions. The award highlights individuals who are shaping the future of the sector through new ideas, energy, and ambition - aligned to CEF’s Professional Standards.
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Recognises 100 individuals each year whose work, leadership, or ideas have significantly shaped the events and festivals landscape during the past year. This distinction honours innovators, strategists, creators, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners who set industry standards, inspire change, and advance global best practice - aligned to CEF’s Professional Standards.
ABOUT THE AWARDS
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From 2026, the Centre for Events & Festivals (CEF) will inaugurate the Golden Ticket Awards, a new international awards programme designed to stand as the premier honour in the global events and festivals industry. Modelled on the prestige, ceremony, and cultural significance of the Oscars, the Golden Ticket Awards will recognise excellence, leadership, and demonstrable impact across events, organisations, and individuals shaping the sector today and defining its future. The awards will span event types, geographies, and professional roles, reflecting the full breadth and diversity of the global events and festivals ecosystem.
Judging will be rigorous, transparent, and evidence-led. All submissions will be assessed by an eminent international panel drawn from across the events and festivals sector, intentionally balanced in terms of expertise, geography, gender, age, and event typology to ensure fair, credible, and representative decision-making.
Entry to the Golden Ticket Awards will be entirely free of charge. However, all nominees and finalist organisations (with a minimum of two representatives) will be required to attend the in-person awards ceremony in London, where Golden Tickets will be presented as part of a live, internationally broadcast celebration of the industry’s most outstanding achievements.
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The awards respond to an important gap in the global events and festivals landscape. While many awards exist at national or sectoral levels, there is no single, evidence-led, international benchmark that recognises best-in-class achievement across the full breadth of the industry. The Golden Ticket Awards aim to:
Celebrate excellence and innovation across events, organisations, and individuals
Raise professional standards through rigorous, transparent judging
Legitimate impact-based practice (social, environmental, economic, academic)
Create a shared global moment of recognition for the sector.
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The key way the Golden Ticket Awards are distinctive is because they offer international prestige serving collectively all event sectors, size, and types of events rather than being country- or niche-specific.
To maintain a high-level of prestige and inclusion across the international events industry the Golden Ticket awards are:
Evidence-led, with clearly defined judging criteria and documentation requirements
Free to enter, removing financial barriers to application
Judged by a diverse, independent panel of global experts
Anchored in impact, not just production scale or commercial success.
For example, a small community-based festival with robust social impact data can compete directly with a large-scale international event if the evidence supports excellence.
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Being nominated or shortlisted is itself a mark of distinction. All nominees may use the designation:
“Nominated for a Golden Ticket Award”
Winners may use:
“Winner of a Golden Ticket Award”
These designations are intended to function as recognised indicators of professional excellence and credibility.
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The Golden Ticket Awards aim to:
Become the definitive global benchmark for excellence in events and festivals
Professionalise recognition across practice, research, and leadership
Encourage evidence-based, responsible, and impactful event delivery
Strengthen global connections across the sector
In short, the Golden Ticket Awards are designed not just to celebrate success, but to shape the future standards of the events and festivals industry.
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Applications and nominations are open to:
Events and festivals of all types and scales
Event organisations and delivery bodies
Individual professionals, leaders, academics, and researchers
All submissions must demonstrate relevance to the events and festivals industry.
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Yes. The Golden Ticket Awards are fully international. Entries are welcomed from all countries and regions, and judging panels will reflect this global scope.
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For third-party nominations, nominators must confirm that the nominee is aware of and agrees to the nomination. Transparency and consent are essential principles of the awards.
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All submissions are assessed against CEF’s Professional Standards aligned to each category. Judging focuses on:
Clarity of objectives and intent
Quality of delivery and execution
Measurable impact and outcomes
Innovation and contribution to sector advancement
Strength and credibility of supporting evidence
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Judging panels are composed of internationally recognised leaders from across the events and festivals ecosystem, including practitioners, academics, policymakers, and sector specialists. Panels are intentionally diverse in geography, expertise, gender, age, and event type.
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The 2026 inaugural Golden Ticket Awards ceremony will be held in London this December (date TBC), as a global convening point for the international events and festivals community.
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Yes. Each award category will be sponsored by a leading organisation. Sponsorship enhances the prestige of both the award and the sponsor, while supporting the long-term sustainability of the programme.
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Yes. The Golden Ticket Awards ceremony will be delivered in partnership with a major international events organisation, positioned as a headline supporter of excellence across the sector.
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Yes. Shortlisted nominees and finalist organisations (with a minimum of two representatives for organisational entries) must attend the in-person ceremony. The awards are conceived as a shared industry moment, not solely a remote recognition exercise.
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The ceremony will be a live, internationally broadcast celebration, designed to showcase the sector’s achievements to a global audience and elevate the public profile of events and festivals.
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Yes, provided that each submission is tailored to the specific criteria of the category and supported by appropriate evidence.