In September, Ljubljana Castle saw the crowning of the best European events of 2026. At the 15th edition of the Unicorn Awards, the coveted Grand Prix was awarded to the Paralympic Opening Ceremony Milano Cortina 2026, created by Italian event agency Filmmaster. The international expert jury recognised the project as the most holistic and compelling of this year’s competition, with an exceptional creative idea, flawless execution, and a strong emotional and communicative impact.

In total, 45 awards were handed out to agencies and individuals from 12 countries. The audience award went to two winners with identical scores: Think Bigger by Portuguese agency Desafio Global and Diamond Mall by Limak DOO Skopje / Diamond Mall. The event agency of the year went to Italian agency Ninetynine.

The title of the best Slovenian event in 2026 went to Creative Pro Adriatic for the Launch of the Quatrac Pro 2 tyre for Vredestein, followed by the Opening of the Homestread Pr’ Mraku and Slavko Oblak Gallery by Zavod za kulturo Bled in second place and Spontanzo agency’s KARNEVAL, an open-air concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of Joker Out, in third. Among 105 finalists from 24 countries, ten Slovenian projects took part, representing nearly one-tenth of all finalists. This growing representation attests to the competitiveness of the Slovenian events industry internationally.

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Photo: Marko Delbello Ocepek

SLOVENIAN RESULTS IN THE BROADER EUROPEAN CONTEXT

The ten Slovenian finalists represented 9.5% of all finalists. The special main category “Best Slovenian Event” enables benchmarking of local projects. Projects that ranked high in international categories also show how competitive Slovenian production is in the European context. The final results are a key reference for competing agencies, their clients, destinations and future international bidding.

The recipients were selected using a unique 80:20 model that combined assessments by an international expert jury and live audience votes.

The jury assessed the projects according to 12 qualitative criteria, while the finalists pitched their projects live at Ljubljana Castle. Three award recipients were named in the main categories: B2B, B2C, B2E and Crossover, while one winner was announced in each eligible subcategory. Special awards highlighted events that stand out for their creativity, technology, sustainability, strategic communication, community building, and other aspects of excellence.

“The Unicorn Awards are not merely recognition for a peerless project. The real value is that award-winning projects become visible to a broad international community and foster new opportunities. This year, 200 guests from 103 organisations and 27 countries watched the finalists’ presentations in Ljubljana, including more than 80 client representatives. In other words, an excellent project can become a reference point for a new brief, novel partnership or the basis for organising the project in another market. The success of Slovenian finalists is just as important, as it shows that local expertise, know-how, creativity and excellence in delivery can rival the best European projects. That is the purpose of the Unicorn Awards: not only to reward excellence, but to make it visible, relevant and useful for the development of the entire industry,” said Gorazd Čad, the founder of the Unicorn Awards.

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Photo: Marko Delbello Ocepek

Below is an overview of the awards and recipients.

MAIN CATEGORIES

B2B EVENTS

1ST PLACE: Ferrari Capital Markets Day 2025 & Technology & Innovation Workshop
Ninetynine, Italy

2ND PLACE: Deloitte IRGA Awards (37th Edition of the Investor Relations and Governance Awards)
Desafio Global, Portugal

3RD PLACE: Think Bigger
Desafio Global, Portugal

B2C EVENTS

1ST PLACE: Planet Budapest
Unger & Partners, Hungary

2ND PLACE: The Breathing Space
NOSLEEPTILLBROOKLYN, Norway

3RD PLACE: Paralympic Opening Ceremony Milano Cortina 2026
Filmmaster S.p.a, Italy

B2E EVENTS

1ST PLACE: This Is Eiendom
Just Cruzin’Production AS, Norway

2ND PLACE: Deloitte Portugal Christmas Party
iMotion Events, Portugal

3RD PLACE: The Birthday Party: A Moment Once in Two Centuries
Event Arena, s.r.o., Czech Republic

CROSSOVER EVENTS

1ST PLACE: Nespresso Capsule on the Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel Promotion
KESCH Live Marketing AG, Austria

2ND PLACE: Ferrari Luce World Premiere
Ninetynine, Italy

3RD PLACE: Mediterranean Phase of the Amerigo Vespucci
World Tour and Closing Events
Ninetynine, Italy

BEST SLOVENIAN EVENTS

1ST PLACE: Launch of the Quatrac Pro 2 by Vredestein Tyres
Creative Pro, Slovenia

2ND PLACE: Opening of the Pr’ Mrako Heritage Homestead & Gallery Slavko Oblak
Zavod za kulturo Bled, Slovenia

3RD PLACE: KARNEVAL – Concert Celebrating Joker Out’s 10th Anniversary
SPONTANZO, Slovenia

SUBCATEGORIES

SC1: BEST CONFERENCE, CONGRESS, CONVENTION
Ferrari Capital Markets Day 2025 & Technology & Innovation
Workshop
Ninetynine, Italy

SC2: TRADE SHOW / EXHIBITION / FAIR
Lords of the Fallen
Jack Morton, Germany

SC3: PRODUCT OR SERVICE LAUNCH
Ferrari Luce World Premiere
Ninetynine, Italy

SC4: CEREMONY
Deloitte IRGA Awards (37th Edition of the Investor Relations and Governance Awards)
Desafio Global, Portugal

SC5: PRESS EVENT
Ferrari Capital Markets Day 2025 & Technology & Innovation Workshop
Ninetynine, Italy

SC6: FESTIVAL
Trådi Rīga, SIA
“SponsorKing”, Latvia

SC7: SPORTS EVENT
Olympic Closing Ceremony Milano Cortina 2026
Filmmaster S.p.a, Italy

SC8: CULTURAL / MUSIC EVENT
Paralympic Opening Ceremony Milano Cortina 2026
Filmmaster S.p.a, Italy

SC9: ROADSHOW
The Breathing Space
NOSLEEPTILLBROOKLYN, Norway

SC10: INTERNAL TRAINING / EDUCATION EVENT
THIS IS EIENDOM
Just Cruzin’ Production AS Norway

SC11: TEAMBUILDING EVENT
THIS IS EIENDOM
Just Cruzin’ Production AS Norway

SC12: INTERNAL CELEBRATION
Deloitte Portugal – Christmas Party
iMotion Events, Portugal

SC13: POP-UP EVENT
IKEA Sleepover Bag – A Night You’ll Never Forget
KESCH Live Marketing AG, Austria

SC14: BRAND ACTIVATION
The Entry Room, by SpareBank1 Østlandet and Retail Factory
Retail Factory AS, Norway

SC15: CSR / NON-PROFIT EVENT
Diamond Mall
Limak DOO Skopje / Diamond Mall

SC16: INCENTIVE/REWARD TRIP
Launch of the Quatrac Pro 2 by Vredestein Tyres
CREATIVE PRO, Slovenia

SC17: LUXURY/LIFESTYLE EVENT
Ferrari Luce World Premiere
Ninetynine, Italy

SC19: PUBLIC INSTITUTION / GOVERNMENT EVENT
Mediterranean Phase of the Amerigo Vespucci World Tour and Closing Events
Ninetynine, Italy

SC20: GRAND SHOW / SPECTACLE CEREMONY
Olympic Closing Ceremony Milano Cortina 2026
Filmmaster S.p.a, Italy

SPECIAL AWARDS

SA1: GRAND PRIX AWARD
Paralympic Opening Ceremony

SA2: AUDIENCE Award
Think Bigger, Desafio Global, Portugal
Diamond Mall, Limak DOO Skopje / Diamond Mall

SA3: Best EVENT AGENCY
Ninetynine, Italy

SA4: Best in CREATIVITY
Škoda Auto – Ooooh That’s Epiq!
Gattinoni & Co srl, Italy

SA5: Best in CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The Breathing Space
NOSLEEPTILLBROOKLYN, Norway

SA6: Best USE OF TECHNOLOGY
PPC 1st Energy Management Meetings
Magna Events, Greece

SA7: Best IN COMMUNITY BUILDING AND ENGAGEMENT
Lords of the Fallen
Jack Morton, Germany

SA8: Best SUSTAINABLE EVENT / PLANET POSITIVE EVENT AWARD
HERE CES 2026
Jack Morton, Germany

SA9: Best IN STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION
Škoda Auto – Ooooh, taht‘s Epiq!
Gattinoni & Co srl Italy

SA10: RISING STAR AWARD
Tea Čapko
ALERT, Croatia

SA11: Best EVENT FORMAT INNOVATION
Future Unfold 2025
Magna Events, Greece

Toleranca Marketing and Conventa organise the festival in partnership with Ljubljana Tourism, the Slovenian Tourist Board, and the Slovenian Convention Bureau.

Learn more about the event, festival, and competition here.