With the Ceremony of Bea World, the curtain closes on the 2025 Live Communication Week, the international reference event for the event industry, created and promoted by ADC Group, an Italian publishing company specialising in advertising, marketing, media, and events. The week dedicated to the international live communication community took place in Rome, in the spaces of the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, and saw the participation of around 2,000 delegates from 40 countries who attended the proceedings of the 22nd edition of Bea – Best Event Awards Italia (19 and 20 November) and the 20th edition of Bea World (21 and 22 November), which respectively celebrate the creative excellence of Italian and international events.
As mentioned, the 2025 edition of Bea World is particularly significant because it celebrates the 20th anniversary of the international competition, which, over these two decades, has grown in the number of events and participating countries, reaching this year 470 entries from 40 countries.
“This is the 20th anniversary year for BEA World. Twenty years of transformations: digital innovation, sustainability, AI, immersive experiences. At every stage, BEA World has interpreted the present and anticipated the future. But what continues to define this award is the humanity that drives it,” commented Salvatore Sagone, President of ADC Group.
A consolidated and distinctive format, structured in three key moments – the juries with the live presentations of the shortlisted projects, the day dedicated to content, and the award ceremony – which represents the beating heart of the event.
“We saw projects that enhance the participant experience in innovative ways. And we are only at the beginning.”
As every year, the jury, made up of a total of 60 top managers from major spending companies, assigned the coveted Grand Prix and GP Iconic Awards, as well as the category awards.
Leading the 2025 jury was its president, Gonçalo Oliveira (Director Brand, Communications & Marketing and Strategy & Business Deloitte), who shared his reflections on this year’s edition, offering a personal perspective on a sector in constant evolution and on the challenges involved in evaluating the competing projects. Oliveira highlights the central role of technological innovation: “Artificial intelligence is without doubt the leading trend in the sector. We are experiencing a true turning point.” According to the Jury President, AI is already transforming the way events deliver value to clients: “We saw projects that enhance the participant experience in innovative ways. And we are only at the beginning.” He adds enthusiastically, “In the coming years, we will witness a major revolution: those who can understand and embrace it will have a huge advantage.”
The Grand Prix goes to…
To win the Gold Grand Prix at Bea World 2025 was the Norwegian event “The Breathing Space by Gjensidige” by NOSLEEPTILLBROOKLYN for the client Gjensidige. The Silver and Bronze Grand Prix went respectively to the French event “Vacances De Ouf – Journée des Oubliés des Vacances 2025 – 80 ans du Secours populaire français” by Auditoire for Secours Populaire Français, and to the Brazilian “Letters From Simone” by Atenas.ag for the client Itaú.
The Grand Prix Iconic Award was assigned to the Italian agencies Mosaico Studio and Fondazione Fratelli Tutti for the event “World Meeting on Human Fraternity”, while the recognition of Best Event Agency 2025 was assigned to the Spanish agency Experientia, for the set of awards received in this edition. The winner of the Press Award was “Strings Of The Soul” by the Latvian agency Luka.
Live! With Respect
This year’s claim, “Live! With Respect”, represented the fil rouge of the entire event and, in particular, of the days dedicated to content and training activities, characterised by a dense program of talks and round tables involving the elite of Italian and international Live Communication.
The event also provided the opportunity to present the research on the European Experience Index™ (EEX) 2025 by 27Names, the association of the best independent European agencies specialised in live experience. The research analyses the live communication, marketing, and brand experience sectors with a dual perspective, collecting opinions from both client companies and agencies in 27 European markets.
Among the main data emerging from the research:
– AI: powerful but not magical. 79% of agencies consider AI a dominant trend, and 97% already use it in creative workflows, but many clients expect immediate miracles. AI can accelerate creativity but not replace it.
– ROI: missing metrics. Nearly half of the clients are not able to effectively measure ROI, and many do not have clear KPIs.
– Talent: the critical point. 1 in 2 agencies states that finding and maintaining qualified people is the biggest challenge.
– Partnership: creativity vs caution. Clients ask for bold ideas but often choose reliability; trust is the new currency.
– Sustainability: the investment gap. Expectations are increasing, but there is still a gap of around 30 points between those who demand sustainability and those who fund it.
The data presented and the high quality of the awarded projects confirm once again how the live communication industry represents a strategic sector, capable of generating great economic value and a hub of professional excellence at a global level.
Live Communication Week passes the baton from Rome to Venice, which will be the splendid setting for the 2026 and 2027 editions, hosted in the spaces of the Municipality of Venice managed by Vela Spa. Learn more about the event here.
