The power of events is to move a few and transform the world

The Bea World competition (Best Event Awards) was founded in 2006 to recognise the best events across Italy. Over nearly a decade, the competition outgrew its original format of a national selection. It became known as the European platform EuBea, before transforming into the global BEA World Festival in 2017. The founding father of the festival is Salvatore Sagone, the President of the ADC Group. Today, BEA World is more than a competition; it combines a conference for event professionals, ample opportunities for networking and the culmination of the festival, the final selection of the world’s best projects. In Rome, event agencies present their masterworks in front of a handpicked international jury. This year, the festival commemorated its 20th anniversary and two decades of setting global standards in creativity, innovation and excellence in the global events industry.

I once wrote that an event competition celebrating the best events is synonymous with theatre.

The etymology of the word comes from Greek theatron (θέατρον), meaning a “space for viewing”. Out of all event competitions out there, I must single out BEA World as my favourite. This event has served as a platform for showcasing the creative, spiritual and socially reflective image of our time for the past two decades. At the same time, this event competition is a space that holds secrets about the truth of current life and society. At its core, it remains a competition that awards the most creative, persistent, bold and brave individuals. It also knows how to penalise the arrogant, haughty and self-important ones. The competition is as unpredictable as life itself: it knows how to surprise, delight, but also disappoint.

To truly comprehend how our dynamic industry breathes and thinks, attending BEA World is an annual must. Unlike a slew of other events, where “trends” are generated by theorists out of touch with practice or even AI-powered tools, BEA World remains a forum where you can see and experience what event agencies are up to and which projects they are most proud of. More importantly, you can talk to agency representatives and their clients in person.

BEA World Festival is thus not only a competition, but an authentic insight into the heart of the industry.

That is another reason why the founder of the festival, Salvatore Sagone, deserves kudos for BEA’s 20th anniversary. Two decades of the BEA Festival have marked the European events industry on several levels. The impact of the competition remains tangible, inspiring and a catalyst for further development. In their introductory remarks, Salvatore Sagone and Jury President Gonzalo Oliveira outlined the tremendous growth of the industry over the past two decades: digital transformation, sustainable practices, the rise of AI and immersive experiences. Despite the tumultuous technological upheavals, they noted that respect towards society, attendees and the environment remains the be-all and end-all. This fundamental value should propel the global events industry forward.

This year, 470 projects entered the competition, which many deem to be the Oscars of the events industry. One hundred and ten event agencies from 40 countries submitted their best works. Over 200 projects made it to the finale of the competition, rendering this year’s event the largest in history.

Whenever I come across an inspiring project, my body reacts faster than my brain – my heart begins pounding, sending a shiver down my spine. 

Many consider the most exciting part of the programme to be the live pitching, which was at the centre of the programme on Friday.  Whenever I come across an inspiring project, my body reacts faster than my brain – my heart begins pounding, sending a shiver down my spine. I become overcome by the need to encourage and commend the creator of the event – to begin cheering for them. It is almost like being part of a throng at a live concert. I suspect co-jury members, gripping their chairs and biting their nails, feel the same. The jury of the BEA World competition comprised 48 leading event experts from across the globe, who are experts in marketing, corporate communication and the live event industry. All members are selected based on international experience, strategic reach and demonstrable impact in the industry. This year’s Jury President was Gonçalo Oliveira, the Brand, Communications & Marketing Director at Deloitte Portugal. He led the entire process of expert evaluation and helped guide the selection of winners. This year, I had the honour of serving as the Press Jury President, helping coordinate the sometimes divergent views of press members on the most compelling projects of the year.

The evaluation process is two-phased: first, it takes place in the digital realm, where the expert jury evaluates all registered projects based on consistent criteria and creates a shortlist of the finalists. Then, the jury convenes in person to listen to the finalists’ presentations on stage, evaluate the quality of their projects and reach a final verdict about the winners in individual categories and the overall winner of the prestigious Grand Prix.

An overview of the competition’s history through the eyes of past winners offered a fantastic introduction to the entire educational programme. The findings of the Barometer research by 27Names provided valuable insights into the industry’s trajectory, while Julius Solaris exposed the industry’s most pressing challenges and tectonic shifts through his provocative analysis. The event also hosted the creators of the majestic, recently opened Grand Egyptian Museum. Roundtables in the afternoon presented an opportunity to exchange know-how and share experiences directly.

One of the most resounding moments of this year’s BEA World was a one-on-one talk with Julius Solaris, a pioneer in connecting data, creativity and technology, who received this year’s Hall of Fame Award.

As the founder of Bold Push, he described dramatic changes in recent years: the explosion of in-person post-pandemic events, moving away from content and embracing connecting, the rapid rise of AI, and the surprising entry of Gen Z into the industry. This new generation values authenticity and live experiences above all. Solaris says today’s events are among the most authentic communication channels and act as catalysts for B2B and B2C marketing. Still, he warns, the industry must gain greater respect and professional recognition.

Here are five key takeaways from his research:

• The record growth of physical events since the pandemic has not ceased
• Connecting with like-minded peers remains the key reason to attend events
• AI presents an opportunity, but only as a companion to human creativity
• Surprisingly, Gen Z supports and enjoys in-person events
• The industry needs more respect, clearly charted career paths and expertise

Among the highlights of the programme was the debut of the European Index 2025, a 27Names research presented by Aleksandra Inarelli and Maciej Legion. The survey, which included the answers from 135 clients and 63 leading European agencies, reveals the current state of the European industry. The two speakers underlined the gap between the wish to measure and actually using KPIs, the growing expectations we have of AI, how clients are shifting to human-tailored experiences, a lack of transparent, sustainable standards and the vast difference between what agencies think clients seek (creativity) and what clients actually value (reliability and safe execution).

We jotted down five key points from the groundbreaking research:

• KPI gap: clients desire measurable results, yet few use unified tools. Common KPIs are an imperative.
• AI in practice: AI-powered tools can improve efficiency, but they cannot create miracles. The value of work should replace hourly rates.
• Connecting: personal and tailor-made experiences are becoming the key reason for attending events.
• Sustainability: Ambitions are high, but budgets remain low. Transparent sustainability levels help disambiguate (good/better/best).
• Pitch paradox: although clients value creativity, they care most about reliability, safe executions and holistic support.

The highly anticipated award ceremony 

The most prestigious award of the competition, the golden Grand Prix, went into the hands of the NOSLEEPTILLBROOKLYN agency for their unrivalled event “The Breathing Space by Gjensidige”. The Grand Prix Iconic Award went to Italy, to the agency Mosaico Studio and Fondazione Fratelli Tutti for their event “World Meeting on Human Fraternity”. The title of Best Event Agency in 2025 went to the Spanish agency Experientia, which consistently showcased creativity and production excellence across its portfolio of award-winning projects. The Press Award was given to the Latvian agency Luka for their project “Strings Of The Soul,” which impressed the media with its storytelling and visual poetry.

As the competition nostalgically looked back on key technological milestones of the industry, the audience could understand just how much the industry has been reshaped.

The award ceremony of the BEA World Festival 2025 in Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone combined an explosion of energy and emotions with professional glamour worthy of the festival’s 20th anniversary. Marco Maccarini and Gabriele Martirosian guided guests through the evening with polished ease. The co-host was an AI tool dubbed Mr B., which imbued the event with modern technological charm thanks to its statistical jokes and charming intermezzos full of complex analyses. As the competition nostalgically looked back on key technological milestones of the industry, the audience could understand just how much the industry has been reshaped. One of the most memorable moments was the Hall of Fame Award presented to Julius Solaris, which saw the audience rise to their feet, not to mention the announcement of the most-anticipated awards – the Grand Prix, Iconic Grand Prix and Best Agency awards.

The event organisers revealed that the next editions, in 2026 and 2027, will be hosted in Venice, opening a new chapter in BEA World’s history.

Personally, I was most impressed by the flawless dramaturgical circle and the tempo maintained by live music played by a professional band on stage. Of course, the emotional speech by Salvatore Sagone, the founder of BEA World, was equally impressive. He shared an honest personal reflection of how two decades have transformed our industry. The retrospective of technological breakthroughs was charming: short videos guided attendees through the past and future of events. The awards would not be complete without rewarding an iconic event, the 10th Millionth Visitor from the Dutch agency Xsaga, which earned them standing ovations.

The final part of the ceremony celebrated the spirit of the twenty-year-old anniversary. The event organisers revealed that the next editions, in 2026 and 2027, will be hosted in Venice, opening a new chapter in BEA World’s history.

A final note, courtesy of one of the event attendees: “The power of events is to move a few and transform the world.”

Every expert industry needs competitions that single out the crème de la crème. Even in the event world, there are ample awards, but those that carry the most meaning are the ones that reward the central product – the event itself. That is another reason why BEA World is essential: it sets global standards in excellence and gives credibility to the industry we help co-create. The second, equally important message of this year’s edition is dedicated to respect. It is more than a value; it is the foundation of sustainable and regenerative thinking. We should always nurture respect for society, attendees, the environment and our own industry. If we want others to view it as a professional sector, we must first take pride in our journey thus far. In Rome, we had many reasons to celebrate. Let’s hope the next twenty years of BEA World will be even more bold, inspiring and replete with human connections.

Explanation of the Press Jury Award

Greek theatre emerged 2,500 years ago in Athens and reached its final form in Rome 2,200 years ago. Many believe that theatre is the cradle of the modern events industry. In a way, we are celebrating 2,200 years of our creative industry this year, which has been connecting audiences through stories, spaces, emotions and life-changing experiences.

Numerous innovations we witnessed among the phenomenal finalists drew inspiration from this heritage. Yet, only a handful of projects eclipse their original function and achieve what the theatre world names catharsis: an emotional cleansing and personal change.

As the press jury, we asked ourselves a simple yet key question: which project shows the direction our industry is headed in? We sought neither the largest budget nor the greatest decibel levels, nor the size of LED screens.

We sought a project that would move us and touch our hearts; a project that would prompt us to reflect and ponder. We wanted to reward an event that opens eyes, dares to think outside the box and invites attendees to experience a catharsis.

Just like in the theatre, at events, not only the scenography, effects or extravagant moments stay in our minds. We reflect on what moved us – what is real, honest and full of meaning. That is why we are proud to reward the Strings of the Soul project with the Press Jury Award.

This is not a recognition of just one event; it is a statement about the future we wish to craft in our industry: a creative, transformative and respectful future.

This project redefined what it means to create empathy at events, not only to engage participants. First, it moved us, and then it gave us food for thought. The event challenged norms and offered an in-depth human perspective with a minimal budget and maximum impact.

This is not a recognition of just one event; it is a statement about the future we wish to craft in our industry: a creative, transformative and respectful future. We aim to create an industry that is respectful toward society, attendees and our planet. Congratulations to the Luka agency from Latvia.

Editorial by Gorazd Čad