The Award
This award celebrates excellence in arts, cultural or heritage events. The event budget/organisation size is irrelevant.

Who should enter?
Organisations that own, deliver, or manage arts, cultural or heritage events. These may be exhibitions, or installation events, cultural performances or celebrations, or commemorations events, etc. Concerts and live music events are recommended to enter the Best Music Event category.

Eligibility
Entries must be related to an event. The event must be delivered in New Zealand and owned by a New Zealand resident business. The event must have either started or concluded between 8 April 2024 to 7 April 2025 inclusive.

Criteria/ How to enter
Entries are to be completed within the online application portal at nzea.co/awards. You will be asked to provide the following and respond to the criteria questions as follows:

Overview
Each entry must begin with a standardised overview of the event so judges can understand why the event was created, when it first began, the scale of the event, content, audience, and participants (maximum 500-word count for this overview).

Criteria questions
Entrants must respond to the following assessment criteria. Maximum 1500 words in total to respond to all questions.

1. Strategy and Objectives (15%)
   a. What did success look like when you started planning the event? Outline your S.M.A.R.T objective(s)* . This may include desired outcomes for audience/sponsor/volunteer engagement and satisfaction, awareness raising, media/profile, and/or profit, driving domestic visitation / contribution to regional GDP, for example (include base metrics where possible)

   b. What was your strategy to achieve these outcomes?

2. Engagement (15%)
   a. Who are the various stakeholders (this may include sponsors, spectators, suppliers, media, participants for example) and how were they engaged

3. Execution (15%)
   a. How does this event demonstrate best practice across the planning and execution of your event? This may include elements such as budgeting, marketing, health and safety, for example.

4. Effectiveness (15%)
   a. Did the event deliver on the S.M.A.R.T objectives outlined in 1a above? In other words, did you achieve what you set out to do? Provide evidence of your measurable outcomes where possible.

5. Excellence (15%)
   a. How did leadership, innovation, unique selling points and legacy outcomes (including broader economic / community / environmental impact, awareness raising, infrastructure, regional identity/pride outcomes) contribute to the event’s success?

   b. Why should this event win over and above other events?

6. Commitment to sustainability (10%)
   a. What is your event’s commitment to sustainability and how did you demonstrate this? Note that your response should include environmental sustainability (e.g. strategies to limit the negative environmental impact), economic sustainability (e.g. financial stability, managing resources, etc, to ensure long-term viability), and social sustainability (e.g. governance, stakeholder relationships, social legacy outcomes, etc).

7. Informed insight (15%) (Judges’ discretion)

*S.M.A.R.T objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Please address these aspects in your response to 1a.

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The Award
This award celebrates excellence in business-owned events of any size that are either ‘Business to Business’ (B2B) or ‘Business to Consumer’ (B2C) in nature. The event budget and size are irrelevant.

Who should enter?
Organisations that own, deliver, or manage business events delivered to achieve business outcomes. Business event activity can be defined as a conference, activation, awards event, corporate social responsibility event, exhibition and all other B2B or B2C styled activities.

Eligibility
Entries must be related to an event. Corporate events must be delivered in New Zealand and owned by a New Zealand resident business. Entries must relate to events that occurred within the qualifying period (the event either started or concluded between 8 April 2024 to 7 April 2025 inclusive).

Criteria/ How to enter
Entries are to be completed within the online application portal at nzea.co/awards. You will be asked to provide the following and respond to the criteria questions as follows:

Overview
Each entry must begin with a standardised overview of the event so judges can understand why the event was created, when it first began, the scale of the event, content, audience, and participants (maximum 500-word count for this overview).

Criteria questions
Entrants must respond to the following assessment criteria. Maximum 1500 words in total to respond to all questions.

1. Strategy and Objectives (15%)
   a. What did success look like when you started planning the event? Outline your S.M.A.R.T objective(s) . This may include desired outcomes for audience/sponsor/volunteer engagement and satisfaction, awareness raising, media/profile, and/or profit, driving domestic visitation / contribution to regional GDP, for example (include base metrics where possible)

   b. What was your strategy to achieve these outcomes?

2. Engagement (15%)
   a. Who are the various stakeholders (this may include sponsors, spectators, suppliers, media, participants for example) and how were they engaged?

3. Execution (15%)
   a. How does this event demonstrate best practice across the planning and execution of your event? This may include elements such as budgeting, marketing, health and safety, for example.

4. Outcomes (20%)
   a. Did the event deliver on the S.M.A.R.T objectives outlined in 1a above? In other words, did you achieve what you set out to do? Provide evidence of your measurable outcomes where possible.

5. Excellence (15%)
   a. How did leadership, innovation, unique selling points and legacy outcomes (including broader economic/community/environmental impact, awareness raising, infrastructure, regional identity/pride outcomes) contribute to the event’s success?

   b. Why should this event win over and above other events?

6. Commitment to sustainability (10%)
   a. What is your event’s commitment to sustainability and how did you demonstrate this? Note that your response should include environmental sustainability (e.g. mitigation strategies to limit the negative impact on the environment/reduce the impact on climate change), economic sustainability (e.g. financial stability, managing resources, etc, to ensure long-term viability), and social sustainability (e.g. governance, stakeholder relationships, social legacy outcomes, etc).

7. Informed insight (10%) Judges’ discretion

*S.M.A.R.T objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Please address these aspects in your response to 1a.

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The Award
This award celebrates excellence in an event attracting less than 3,000 participants delivered to meet local community needs or a cause-related fundraising or awareness-raising event. The event budget and size are irrelevant.

Who should enter?
Not-for-profit organisations (NFPs), or those who partner with NFPs, investing in or initiating event-related community, social or environmental initiatives, and charities or trusts who use events to deliver these initiatives. You may be an event manager, event owner, trust or charity.

Eligibility
Entries must be related to an event. The NFP or cause-related event must be delivered in New Zealand and owned by a New Zealand resident business. Entries must relate to events that occurred within the qualifying period (the event either started or concluded between 8 April 2024 to 7 April 2025 inclusive).

Criteria/ How to enter:
Entries are to be completed within the online application portal at nzea.co/awards. You will be asked to provide the following and respond to the criteria questions as follows:

Overview
Each entry must begin with a standardised overview of the event so judges can understand why the event was created, when it first began, the scale of the event, content, audience, and participants (maximum 500-word count for this overview).

Criteria questions
Entrants must respond to the following assessment criteria. Maximum 1500 words in total to respond to all questions.

1. Strategy and Objectives (15%)

   a. What did success look like when you started planning the event? Outline your S.M.A.R.T objective(s) . This may include desired outcomes for audience/sponsor/volunteer engagement and satisfaction, awareness raising, media/profile, and/or profit, driving domestic visitation / contribution to regional GDP, for example (include base metrics where possible)

   b. What was your strategy to achieve these outcomes?

2. Engagement (15%)
   a. Who are the various stakeholders (this may include sponsors, spectators, suppliers, media, participants for example) and how were they engaged?

3. Execution (15%)

   a. How does this event demonstrate best practice across the planning and execution of your event? This may include elements such as budgeting, marketing, health and safety, for example.

4. Effectiveness (15%)

   a. Did the event deliver on the S.M.A.R.T objectives outlined in 1a above? In other words, did you achieve what you set out to do? Provide evidence of your measurable outcomes where possible.

5. Excellence (15%)

   a. How did leadership, innovation, unique selling points and legacy outcomes (including broader economic/community/environmental impact, awareness raising, infrastructure, regional identity/pride outcomes) contribute to the event’s success?

   b. Why should this event win over and above other events?

6. Commitment to sustainability (10%)

   a. What is your event’s commitment to sustainability and how did you demonstrate this? Note that your response should include environmental sustainability (e.g. mitigation strategies to limit the negative impact on the environment/reduce the impact on climate change), economic sustainability (e.g. financial stability, managing resources, etc, to ensure long-term viability), and social sustainability (e.g. governance, stakeholder relationships, social legacy outcomes, etc).

7. Informed insight (15%) (Judges’ discretion)

*S.M.A.R.T objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Please address these aspects in your response to 1a.

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The Award
This award celebrates excellence in an event attracting more than 3,000 participants delivered to meet local community needs or a cause-related fundraising or awareness-raising event. The event budget and size are irrelevant.

Who should enter?
Not-for-profit organisations (NFPs), or those who partner with NFPs, investing in or initiating event-related community, social or environmental initiatives, and charities or trusts who use events to deliver these initiatives. You may be an event manager, event owner, trust or charity.

Eligibility
Entries must be related to an event. The NFP or cause-related event must be delivered in New Zealand and owned by a New Zealand resident business. Entries must relate to events that occurred within the qualifying period (the event either started or concluded between 8 April 2024 to 7 April 2025 inclusive).

Criteria/ How to enter:
Entries are to be completed within the online application portal at nzea.co/awards. You will be asked to provide the following and respond to the criteria questions as follows:

Overview
Each entry must begin with a standardised overview of the event so judges can understand why the event was created, when it first began, the scale of the event, content, audience, and participants (maximum 500-word count for this overview).

Criteria questions
Entrants must respond to the following assessment criteria. Maximum 1500 words in total to respond to all questions.

1. Strategy and Objectives (15%)

   a. What did success look like when you started planning the event? Outline your S.M.A.R.T objective(s) . This may include desired outcomes for audience/sponsor/volunteer engagement and satisfaction, awareness raising, media/profile, and/or profit, driving domestic visitation / contribution to regional GDP, for example (include base metrics where possible)

   b. What was your strategy to achieve these outcomes?

2. Engagement (15%)
   a. Who are the various stakeholders (this may include sponsors, spectators, suppliers, media, participants for example) and how were they engaged?

3. Execution (15%)

   a. How does this event demonstrate best practice across the planning and execution of your event? This may include elements such as budgeting, marketing, health and safety, for example.

4. Effectiveness (15%)

   a. Did the event deliver on the S.M.A.R.T objectives outlined in 1a above? In other words, did you achieve what you set out to do? Provide evidence of your measurable outcomes where possible.

5. Excellence (15%)

   a. How did leadership, innovation, unique selling points and legacy outcomes (including broader economic/community/environmental impact, awareness raising, infrastructure, regional identity/pride outcomes) contribute to the event’s success?

   b. Why should this event win over and above other events?

6. Commitment to sustainability (10%)

   a. What is your event’s commitment to sustainability and how did you demonstrate this? Note that your response should include environmental sustainability (e.g. mitigation strategies to limit the negative impact on the environment/reduce the impact on climate change), economic sustainability (e.g. financial stability, managing resources, etc, to ensure long-term viability), and social sustainability (e.g. governance, stakeholder relationships, social legacy outcomes, etc).

7. Informed insight (15%) (Judges’ discretion)

*S.M.A.R.T objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Please address these aspects in your response to 1a.

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The Award
This award celebrates excellence in food, beverage or lifestyle events e.g. food festivals, wine or beer festivals, garden shows, special interest expos, etc. Event budget/organisation size is irrelevant.

Who should enter?
Organisations that own, deliver or manage food, beverage or lifestyle events.

Eligibility
Entries must be related to an event. The event must be delivered in New Zealand and owned by a New Zealand resident business. Entries must relate to events that occurred within the qualifying period (the event either started or concluded between 8 April 2024 to 7 April 2025 inclusive).

Criteria/ How to enter
Entries are to be completed within the online application portal at nzea.co/awards. You will be asked to provide the following and respond to the criteria questions as follows:

Overview
Each entry must begin with a standardised overview of the event so judges can understand why the event was created, when it first began, the scale of the event, content, audience, and participants (maximum 500-word count for this overview).

Criteria questions
Entrants must respond to the following assessment criteria. Maximum 1500 words in total to respond to all questions.

1. Strategy and Objectives (15%)

   a. What did success look like when you started planning the event? Outline your S.M.A.R.T* objective(s) . This may include desired outcomes for audience/sponsor/volunteer engagement and satisfaction, awareness raising, media/profile, and/or profit, driving domestic visitation / contribution to regional GDP, for example (include base metrics where possible)

   b. What was your strategy to achieve these outcomes?

2. Engagement (15%)

   a. Who are the various stakeholders (this may include sponsors, spectators, suppliers, media, participants for example) and how were they engaged?

3. Execution (15%)

   a. How does this event demonstrate best practice across the planning and execution of your event? This may include elements such as budgeting, marketing, health and safety, for example.

4. Effectiveness (15%)

   a. Did the event deliver on the S.M.A.R.T objectives outlined in 1a above? In other words, did you achieve what you set out to do? Provide evidence of your measurable outcomes where possible.

5. Excellence (15%)

   a. How did leadership, innovation, unique selling points and legacy outcomes (including broader economic/community/environmental impact, awareness raising, infrastructure, regional identity/pride outcomes) contribute to the event’s success?

   b. Why should this event win over and above other events?

6. Commitment to sustainability (10%)

   a. What is your event’s commitment to sustainability and how did you demonstrate this? Note that your response should include environmental sustainability (e.g. mitigation strategies to limit the negative impact on the environment/reduce the impact on climate change), economic sustainability (e.g. financial stability, managing resources, etc, to ensure long-term viability), and social sustainability (e.g. governance, stakeholder relationships, social legacy outcomes, etc).

7. Informed insight(15%)(Judge’s discretion)

*SMART objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Please address these aspects in your response to 1a.

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The Award
This award celebrates excellence in events that are owned or delivered by local government. Event budget/organisation size is irrelevant.

Who should enter?
Local government organisations that own or deliver events. Events receiving local government support, but delivered externally are not eligible (these will be eligible to enter other categories).

Eligibility
Entries must be related to an event. The event must be delivered in New Zealand and owned or delivered by a New Zealand local government organisation – i.e. Council, Regional Council, Regional Tourism Organisation, economic development agencies, or council-controlled organisations. Entries must relate to events that occurred within the qualifying period (the event either started or concluded between 8 April 2024 to 7 April 2025 inclusive).

Criteria/ How to enter
Entries are to be completed within the online application portal at nzea.co/awards. You will be asked to provide the following and respond to the criteria questions as follows:

Overview
Each entry must begin with a standardised overview of the event so judges can understand why the event was created, when it first began, the scale of the event, content, audience, and participants (maximum 500-word count for this overview).

Criteria questions
Entrants must respond to the following assessment criteria. Maximum 1500 words in total to respond to all questions.

1. Strategy and Objectives (15%)

   a. What did success look like when you started planning the event? Outline your S.M.A.R.T* objective(s) . This may include desired outcomes for audience/sponsor/volunteer engagement and satisfaction, awareness raising, media/profile, and/or profit, driving domestic visitation / contribution to regional GDP, for example (include base metrics where possible)

   b. What was your strategy to achieve these outcomes?
   

2. Engagement (15%)

   a. Who are the various stakeholders (this may include sponsors, spectators, suppliers, media, participants for example) and how were they engaged?
   

3. Execution (15%)

   a. How does this event demonstrate best practice across the planning and execution of your event? This may include elements such as budgeting, marketing, health and safety, for example.
   

4. Effectiveness (15%)

   a. Did the event deliver on the S.M.A.R.T objectives outlined in 1a above? In other words, did you achieve what you set out to do? Provide evidence of your measurable outcomes where possible.

5. Excellence (15%)

   a. How did leadership, innovation, unique selling points and legacy outcomes (including broader economic/community/environmental impact, awareness raising, infrastructure, regional identity/pride outcomes) contribute to the event’s success?

   b. Why should this event win over and above other events?

6. Commitment to sustainability (10%)

   a. What is your event’s commitment to sustainability and how did you demonstrate this? Note that your response should include environmental sustainability (e.g. mitigation strategies to limit the negative impact on the environment/reduce the impact on climate change), economic sustainability (e.g. financial stability, managing resources, etc, to ensure long-term viability), and social sustainability (e.g. governance, stakeholder relationships, social legacy outcomes, etc).

7. Informed insight (Judge’s discretion) (15%)

*SMART objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Please address these aspects in your response to 1a.

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The Award
This Award recognises the successful hosting and/or delivery of an internationally significant event in New Zealand. The event will generate interest, profile or visitation from outside New Zealand. The rights to the event will generally be owned by an international body with a local delivery partner or local organising entity established specifically for the event.

Who should enter?
Organisations that own, deliver or manage major or mega events.

Eligibility
Entries must be related to an event. The event must be delivered in New Zealand and the majority of the management, execution of, and procurement for, the event be by and from NZ resident businesses. The event may be owned by an international body. Entries must relate to events that occurred within the qualifying period (the event either started or concluded between 8 April 2024 to 7 April 2025 inclusive).

Criteria/ How to enter
Entries are to be completed within the online application portal at nzea.co/awards. You will be asked to provide the following and respond to the criteria questions as follows:

Overview
Each entry must begin with a standardised overview of the event so judges can understand why the event was created, when it first began, the scale of the event, content, audience, and participants (maximum 500-word count for this overview).

Criteria questions
Entrants must respond to the following assessment criteria. Maximum 1500 words in total to respond to all questions.

1. Strategy and Objectives (15%)

   a. What did success look like when you started planning the event? Outline your S.M.A.R.T* objective(s) . This may include desired outcomes for audience/sponsor/volunteer engagement and satisfaction, awareness raising, media/profile, and/or profit, driving international or domestic visitation / contribution to regional GDP, for example (include base metrics where possible)

   b. What was your strategy to achieve these outcomes?

2. Engagement (15%)

   a. Who are the various stakeholders (this may include sponsors, spectators, suppliers, media, participants for example) and how were they engaged?

3. Execution (15%)

   a. How does this event demonstrate best practice across the planning and execution of your event? This may include elements such as budgeting, marketing, health and safety, for example.

4. Effectiveness (15%)

   a. Did the event deliver on the S.M.A.R.T objectives outlined in 1a above? In other words, did you achieve what you set out to do? Provide evidence of your measurable outcomes where possible.

5. Excellence (15%)

   a. How did leadership, innovation, unique selling points and legacy outcomes (including broader economic/community/environmental impact, awareness raising, infrastructure, regional identity/pride outcomes) contribute to the event’s success?

   b. Why should this event win over and above other events?

6. Commitment to sustainability (10%)

   a. What is your event’s commitment to sustainability and how did you demonstrate this? Note that your response should include environmental sustainability (e.g. mitigation strategies to limit the negative impact on the environment/reduce the impact on climate change), economic sustainability (e.g. financial stability, managing resources, etc, to ensure long-term viability), and social sustainability (e.g. governance, stakeholder relationships, social legacy outcomes, etc).

7. Informed insight (Judge’s discretion) (15%)

*SMART objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Please address these aspects in your response to 1a.

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The Award
This award celebrates excellence in events that are focused on music to a target audience e.g. concerts, festivals, performances, touring and inhouse events, one-off shows or short run and series events. The event budget/organisation size is irrelevant.

Who should enter?
Organisations that own, deliver, or manage music events.

Eligibility
Entries must be related to an event or series of events (tours) delivered in New Zealand and owned by a New Zealand resident business. Entries must relate to events that occurred within the qualifying period (the event either started or concluded between 8 April 2024 to 7 April 2025 inclusive).

Criteria/ How to enter
Entries are to be completed within the online application portal at nzea.co/awards. You will be asked to provide the following and respond to the criteria questions as follows:

Overview
Each entry must begin with a standardised overview of the event so judges can understand why the event was created, when it first began, the scale of the event, content, audience, and participants (maximum 500-word count for this overview).

Criteria questions
Entrants must respond to the following assessment criteria. Maximum 1500 words in total to respond to all questions.

1. Strategy and Objectives (15%)

   a. What did success look like when you started planning the event? Outline your S.M.A.R.T* objective(s) . This may include desired outcomes for audience/sponsor/volunteer engagement and satisfaction, awareness raising, media/profile, and/or profit, driving domestic visitation / contribution to regional GDP, for example (include base metrics where possible)

   b. What was your strategy to achieve these outcomes?

2. Engagement (15%)
   a. Who are the various stakeholders (this may include sponsors, spectators, suppliers, media, participants for example) and how were they engaged?

3. Execution (15%)

   a. How does this event demonstrate best practice across the planning and execution of your event? This may include elements such as budgeting, marketing, health and safety, for example.

4. Effectiveness (15%)

   a. Did the event deliver on the S.M.A.R.T objectives outlined in 1a above? In other words, did you achieve what you set out to do? Provide evidence of your measurable outcomes where possible.

5. Excellence (15%)

   a. How did leadership, innovation, unique selling points and legacy outcomes (including broader economic/community/environmental impact, awareness raising, infrastructure, regional identity/pride outcomes) contribute to the event’s success?

   b. Why should this event win over and above other events?

6. Commitment to sustainability (10%)

   a. What is your event’s commitment to sustainability and how did you demonstrate this? Note that your response should include environmental sustainability (e.g. mitigation strategies to limit the negative impact on the environment/reduce the impact on climate change), economic sustainability (e.g. financial stability, managing resources, etc, to ensure long-term viability), and social sustainability (e.g. governance, stakeholder relationships, social legacy outcomes, etc).

7. Informed insight (Judge’s discretion) (15%)

*SMART objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Please address these aspects in your response to 1a.

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The Award
This award celebrates excellence in sports events. The event budget/organisation size is irrelevant.

Who should enter?
Organisations that own, deliver or manage sports events.

Eligibility
Entries must be related to an event. The event must be delivered in New Zealand and owned by a New Zealand resident business. Entries must relate to events that occurred within the qualifying period (the event either started or concluded between 8 April 2024 to 7 April 2025 inclusive).

Criteria/ How to enter
Entries are to be completed within the online application portal at nzea.co/awards. You will be asked to provide the following and respond to the criteria questions as follows:

Overview
Each entry must begin with a standardised overview of the event so judges can understand why the event was created, when it first began, the scale of the event, content, audience, and participants (maximum 500-word count for this overview).

Criteria questions
Entrants must respond to the following assessment criteria. Maximum 1500 words in total to respond to all questions.

1. Strategy and Objectives (15%)

   a. What did success look like when you started planning the event? Outline your S.M.A.R.T* objective(s) . This may include desired outcomes for audience/sponsor/volunteer engagement and satisfaction, awareness raising, media/profile, and/or profit, driving domestic visitation / contribution to regional GDP, for example (include base metrics where possible)

   b. What was your strategy to achieve these outcomes?

2. Engagement (15%)

   a. Who are the various stakeholders (this may include sponsors, spectators, suppliers, media, participants for example) and how were they engaged

3. Execution (15%)

   a. How does this event demonstrate best practice across the planning and execution of your event? This may include elements such as budgeting, marketing, health and safety, for example.

4. Effectiveness (15%)

   a. Did the event deliver on the S.M.A.R.T objectives outlined in 1a above? In other words, did you achieve what you set out to do? Provide evidence of your measurable outcomes where possible.

5. Excellence (15%)

   a. How did leadership, innovation, unique selling points and legacy outcomes (including broader economic / community / environmental impact, awareness raising, infrastructure, regional identity/pride outcomes) contribute to the event’s success?

   b. Why should this event win over and above other events?

6. Commitment to sustainability (10%)

   a. What is your event’s commitment to sustainability and how did you demonstrate this? Note that your response should include environmental sustainability (e.g. mitigation strategies to limit the negative impact on the environment/reduce the impact on climate change), economic sustainability (e.g. financial stability, managing resources, etc, to ensure long-term viability), and social sustainability (e.g. governance, stakeholder relationships, social legacy outcomes, etc).

7. Informed insight (Judge’s discretion) (15%)

*SMART objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Please address these aspects in your response to 1a.

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