123 of 178 attendees, or 69%, come from abroad. The event thus connects 26 international markets with the Slovenian events ecosystem. Every fourth attendee represents a client or institution: altogether, 49 attendees from 29 organisations, including 19 representatives of corporate clients and ten jury members representing corporations. Attendees include company representatives and event organisers from the finance, healthcare, tech, consultancy, and destination management sectors. The companies include Škoda Auto, BYD Europe, Michelin, DNB, VÚB banka, NLB, Mastercard, Krka, Fotona, Novartis, Arup, Trivium Packaging, Boston Consulting Group and others. As these brands appoint event agencies, manage sponsorships, shape destination strategies, and choose agency partners, their presence plays a key role in strengthening the festival’s business volume.
This year’s competition scope is the most extensive to date, with 131 projects from 24 countries applying.
117 of them met formal and content-related requirements, while a record-breaking 105 events made it to the finale. The average score of evaluated projects was 7.34 out of 10. The finalists are represented in 19 of the 20 available subcategories. Most finalists compete in the B2C category (46 or 43.8%), followed by the B2B category (29 or 27.6%), the Crossover category (17 or 16.2%), and the B2E category (13 or 12.4%). The breadth of projects ranges from conferences, product launches, and brand activations to festivals, sports events, internal projects and grand spectacles.
| 202 accredited participants | 103 brands | 27 countries represented | 69% international attendees |
| 131 registered projects | 105 finalists | 29 jury members | 80:20 jury & audience vote |
Today, the finalists are hard at work pitching the projects to an international expert jury and audience. Each pitch includes a two-minute presentation, followed by five minutes for jury questions. The final score is based on an 80:20 model. Eighty per cent of the vote comes from the jury, while 20% comes from the audience.
The programme, comprising 105 pitches in two halls, totals 12 hours and fifteen minutes of expert dialogue. A remarkable 525 minutes of that is jury Q&A. This format allows attendees to compare creative designs, production-related decisions, execution challenges and tangible results of leading European events.
On Tuesday, the programme will be dedicated to a final jury meeting, an international educational track titled “Do you Believe in Unicorns?” and the final award ceremony. The event’s partnership with the ICCA Central European Chapter Meeting 2026 will connect the events community with experts in experience and destination marketing. The winners will be announced at 20:00 at an award ceremony in Hribar Hall at Ljubljana Castle.
“This year’s immense interest shows that a grassroots initiative has grown into a recognisable international platform. One hundred and thirty-one registered projects, 105 finalists from 24 countries, and a sold-out festival show that the expert community needs such a credible gathering to benchmark, exchange best practices, and meet peers. For Ljubljana and Slovenia, this is a one-off opportunity for international promotion and direct contact with clients, agencies and event creators,” commented Gorazd Čad, the founder of the Unicorn Awards.
The project was created as a startup initiative by Toleranca marketing and partners. This year, the event is entering a new development phase as the Unicorn Awards by Conventa. Its mission is to evaluate, present and promote the finest European events and connect clients, agencies and other industry stakeholders.
In international event circles, the Unicorn Awards is increasingly being mentioned alongside established competitions such as Eventex and Bea World Festival.
The organisers are grounding the platform’s development in clear rules, a transparent evaluation system, and a focus on business events. According to the organisers, the Unicorn Awards festival is the largest such event in New Europe focused on the corporate market.
Nearly half of all registered agencies (48%) were also nominated among the top 100 most influential event agencies, a list prepared by Kongres Magazine in partnership with the Unicorn Awards. This confirms that this year’s event includes a key part of the European events industry.
WHY THE EVENT MATTERS FOR SLOVENIA
The attendance of leading European agencies, clients, and creators in Ljubljana strengthens the industry’s expertise, brings new opportunities for hosting international projects, and solidifies Slovenia’s position as an outpost for business and creative events and demanding productions.
The jury work is scheduled to take place live on Monday, 7 September 2026, from 09:00 to 17:00. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, at 20:00 at the award ceremony at Ljubljana Castle.
Press accreditation is possible 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.
