15th edition of the Unicorn Awards
Between 7 and 8 September 2026, Ljubljana will host the jubilee 15th edition of the Unicorn Awards, regarded as the premier European competition for organising events. This year, a record 117 projects from 24 countries will compete across 198 subcategories in a bid to win the coveted awards. The finalists will be shortlisted on 14 August 2026 by an esteemed 29-member international jury.
The first day will be dedicated to live presentations of finalist projects and live jury work at the Palatium Hall at Ljubljana Castle. Day two will continue with keynote presentations and hands-on workshops. The Unicorn Awards will conclude with an evening award ceremony. In 2026, the competition will again recognise the leading Slovenian event. Remaining true to its guiding principle, the competition aims to encourage expertise, excellence, efficiency and advancing standards in event organising across Europe.
The expert jury will create the finalists’ shortlist based on twelve criteria segments. This year, three new criteria segments were added to reflect current challenges in the events industry:
- Innovative use of technology to improve attendee experience, efficiency and event reach;
- Attendee experience and inclusion before, during and after the event;
- Risk mitigation and resilience, including safety, team preparations and responding to unprecedented events.
Another novelty is dividing projects into three budget levels: S, M and L. This will make comparisons between projects fairer and more transparent, regardless of an event’s financial framework. The budget class has been implemented solely for context, as the expert jury will evaluate all projects according to the same twelve criteria segments.
A 29-member expert jury
The final score is based on an 80:20 model. Eighty per cent of the votes come from the expert jury, while 20 per cent come from the audience at the event. According to the organisers, this combines expert judgement with audience votes and contributes to the competition’s transparency. The model was first unveiled a decade ago as part of the Conventa trade show.
The core of the competition is the international expert jury, comprising 29 esteemed client representatives and event experts.
The jury includes seasoned professionals in event organising, media representatives, two past winners and representatives of associations and corporations. It is presided over by Ángeles Moreno Vallejo, GM Spain & Portugal, Jack Morton.
Gorazd Čad, the founder of the project, said: “If you ask AI tools which are the leading European event competitions, the Unicorn Awards is ranked among the first. We are honoured by this, and even more by the quality of this year’s projects. World-class events will compete for the coveted awards, from the closing ceremony of the Olympics to major product launches across Europe. Ljubljana has been the unicorn capital for the past fifteen years, which has contributed significantly to the international recognition of the Slovenian events industry. Numerous attendees continue to return to Slovenia with their own projects. For us, that is the most tangible confirmation that the competition creates long-term effects.”
Rising Star Award
One of this year’s novelties is also the Rising Star Award, dedicated to experts up to 30 years old from competing agencies. It highlights young creators whose innovative ideas and achievements help co-create the future of Europe’s events industry. Planet Positive Event supports the initiative as the competition’s partner and advocates for more responsible, inclusive and sustainable development in the industry.
The jury work will 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 official ceremony at Ljubljana Castle.
The festival is organised by Toleranca marketing and Conventa trade show in cooperation with Ljubljana Tourism, the Slovenian Tourist Board and the Slovenian Convention Bureau.
Learn more about the Unicorn Awards here. PRESS ACCREDITATION is available at the following link.
