The leading European event agencies are coming to Ljubljana

The finalists will compete live in front of the audience and jury across four main categories. In 2026, most events will compete in the B2C category (43.8%), targeting the general public and clients. This is followed by B2B events (27.6%), dedicated to business-to-business events. Crossover events (16.2%) connect both target audiences, while B2E events (12.4%) address employees and focus on internal communication, connections, and motivation.

The diversity of this year’s grand finale is further underlined by the fact that finalists will compete in 19 of the 20 available subcategories. Most projects will compete in the following subcategories: best conference and congress, best brand activation and best product launch. Other events will compete to receive the titles of best cultural and music event, best festival, best sports event, best ceremony, best trade show, best internal event, and best spectacle.

This year’s finalists hail from 24 countries, underscoring the increasingly international scope of the competition. Among the most represented countries are Poland, Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Portugal, Austria, Norway and Hungary. Numerous projects from New Europe are among the finalists.

The central part of the event programme is the live pitching of finalists in front of an audience and expert jury at Ljubljana Castle. On Monday, 7 September 2026, presentations of the best projects will take place throughout the day. According to the organisers, the live pitching provides an exclusive insider look behind the scenes of the European events industry, its creative approaches, production challenges, and latest trends.

Further confirming the quality and influence of the participating agencies is that over 48% of competing agencies made the list of the most influential event agencies in Europe, compiled by Kongres Magazine in partnership with the Unicorn Awards.

The meeting of the expert jury will take place on Tuesday, 8 September 2026. The jury will convene to reach a final decision, and symbolic white smoke will waft over Ljubljana Castle, announcing that the winners have been selected. The winners will then claim their deserved awards at the stately evening ceremony. Regulated and rigorous jury guidelines represent one of the key pillars of the event’s trustworthiness and one of the reasons events from across Europe participate. Further information regarding the jury work is available at the following link.

Commenting on this year’s tremendous response, Gorazd Čad, the project founder, emphasised: “If you develop something for fifteen years, you must be on to something. We kept thinking outside the box, tried and tested new ideas, and dared to provoke the industry. That is why I see the positive feedback on our rebranding and evolution from the international events community as a milestone kudos. At the same time, this great interest brings a great responsibility. To organise an event for people who organise the industry’s largest events is no simple feat, with expectations set truly high. I am particularly proud of our dedicated, diligent and creative team, with whom we have been crafting a project that goes beyond Slovenia’s borders. I am eager for this year’s event to start and look forward to future years of development and new ideas.”

The final day of the event preceding the evening award ceremony will be dedicated to a knowledge-sharing, content-driven conference. Over the years, the festival has gained fame for hosting renowned speakers. In 2026, the Unicorns stage will feature speakers from the marketing world, festival scene, music realm, and live experience industry who will discuss staying abreast of and co-creating trends. You can see the event programme at the following link.

The festival is organised by Toleranca marketing and Conventa trade show in partnership with Ljubljana Tourism, the Slovenian Tourist Board and the Slovenian Convention Bureau.

Learn more about the event here.