Event Services Tenders and Contracts

An event services tender is a public sector contract for planning, staging or promoting an event, including cultural event organisation, sports event promotion, fireworks displays, marquee and stage provision and expo management procured by UK and Irish public bodies.

Stotles brings together event services tenders and contracts from 100+ portals into one search, so you do not have to check each portal separately, and you can set alerts for new opportunities across the UK and Ireland.

If you want to search the government portals directly, Find a Tender carries higher-value contracts across the UK and Contracts Finder carries lower-value contracts in England. Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Ireland's eTenders covers Irish public bodies, and many councils, NHS bodies and housing associations publish on their own e-tendering portals such as ProContract. Councils and cultural bodies often publish event and festival contracts on their own portals and on Contracts Finder.

Event tenders are scored on the creative and operational plan, safety management, experience of similar events, accessibility, sustainability and price. Many councils let recurring events such as fireworks and festivals for several years, so the expiry of the current contract is the best signal to watch.

Event suppliers must meet health and safety law for crowds, structures and fireworks, and event security staff must hold SIA licences. Tenders usually set minimum insurance cover, check financial standing and ask for evidence of similar events at selection stage. Under the Procurement Act 2023, suppliers can be excluded for certain criminal convictions, insolvency or failure to pay tax.

Event services are bought as a one-off event, or as an annual event let for several years such as a firework display or town centre festival. Larger programmes are split into lots for production, catering and entertainment. Buyers include councils, government departments and tourism bodies.

Local councils, universities and NHS trusts are common buyers of event services contracts. Tourism bodies and cultural venues also procure event organisation and promotion work.

Read events calendars, town centre and festival strategies, tourism and cultural programmes and expiry dates for annual event contracts, which show work coming due ahead of a notice. On Stotles you can track those signals and the councils and venues behind them, then follow a notice from pre-tender through to award.

Event services notices carry 79952000 (Event services), 79952100 (Cultural event organisation services) and 92622000 (Sports-event organisation services). Fireworks displays also carry 24613200 (Fireworks).