Open to all non-profit European cultural organisations, the European Award encourages new forms of audience engagement and participation in arts and culture, supporting innovative projects, across all art forms, that can be shared, replicated and scaled across Europe. Working against all social, economic and geographic barriers, the Award encourages access to arts and culture for everyone, and champions new dialogues between arts and audiences.

The total amount of the European Award is €180,000, divided into 5 Awards will support the most innovative practices.

Applicants are invited to apply to one of the 3 categories based on the organisation’s annual expenditure in the 2024 financial year:

• Category 1 (cultural organisations with up to €500,000 annual expenditure): Award of €30,000
• Category 2 (cultural organisations from €500,000 to €2 million annual expenditure): Award of €40,000
• Category 3 (cultural organisations with over €2 million annual expenditure): Award of €50,000

By submitting their application, candidates automatically become eligible for the Special Jury Award and the Audience Choice Award, each worth €30,000.

Application deadline is June 26, 2026.

Applicants must be registered as non-profit cultural institutions or organisations, from the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Northern Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia) and Ukraine.

Only one application is allowed per cultural organisation.

Applicants can submit:

• a new project proposal
• an existing project with a new innovative dimension

Applicants must submit an estimated project budget where the Award income depending on their category (€30,000, €40,000 or €50,000) is no more than 80% of the presented budget.