On Monday, 8 September 2025, Conventa Crossover will be the stage for live pitching of the CBEA finalists. The jury will evaluate the best events in person at the Palatium Hall on Ljubljana Castle. A record-breaking 55 events from 16 countries will compete at the competition in the hope of winning the coveted unicorn award. The projects are divided into four main categories: B2B, B2C, B2E and Crossover categories. The competition will also name the best Slovenian event alongside a special jury award.
A record-breaking 55 events from 16 countries will compete at the competition in the hope of winning the coveted unicorn award.
An expert jury selects the finalists and winners based on nine criteria segments. The voting follows a three-stage system according to a unique 80:20 model (the expert jury contributes 80% of the final score while the audience at Conventa Crossover contributes 20% of the score). The organisers outline that the CBEA competition is the only competition of its kind to use such an evaluation system. A decade ago, the one-off model, which combines scores from the jury and the audience, was revealed at the advent of Conventa Crossover. Since then, the model has become a highly effective evaluation method as it raises the transparency and impartiality.
The jury is univocal in praising the quality of projects this year. Record-breaking scores for the projects attest to the calibre of projects (the average mark of projects is 7.14). Each project is evaluated by at least 10 jury members, making the final score credible and internationally comparable.
One of the novelties this year is the corporate jury, comprised of client representatives. The competition will also award 10 special unicorn prizes, including the Rising Star Award for the most promising young event agency and the Best Strategic Communication Event Award.
Gorazd Čad, the founder of the project, said: “We are glad that our vision is becoming a reality: we want to become an esteemed European competition for leading events and experience marketing. We are further impressed by the quality of projects this year. We are eager to meet the best event organisers this year, gain new knowledge and inspiration for our future projects. The presentation of finalists on 8 September 2025 is a trove of knowledge that cannot be found anywhere else.”
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The in-person jury work is scheduled for Monday, 8 September 2025, between 09:00 and 17:00. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, 9 September 2028, at 20:00 at the award ceremony at Ljubljana Castle.
The festival of events is organised by Toleranca marketing, an event and consultancy agency and Conventa, a market-leading B2B trade show, in partnership with Ljubljana Tourism, the Slovenian Tourist Board and the Slovenian Convention Bureau.
Learn more about the event here.
