What you need to know
The National Events Programme is one of the core funds run by the EventScotland team, designed to assist in the delivery of the National Events Strategy, Scotland the Perfect Stage, and to contribute to the wider recovery of tourism and events in Scotland.
The programme supports the strategic development of events in 2022. It has been designed specifically to support public-facing live sporting and cultural events, which take place outwith the local authority areas of The City of Edinburgh Council and Glasgow City Council and drive domestic tourism within Scotland.
The National Events Programme is designed to support Scotland’s tourism and events industries, contribute to the wider recovery of Scottish tourism and events and showcase Scotland’s assets. It provides assistance to support events in 2022 to develop sustainably.
There is support available for both community focused events and events supporting the wider visitor economy, as outlined on this page.
Community Events: awards of between £2,000 - £4,000 are available for eligible event organisers of community focused events within Scotland with overall delivery budgets between £8,000 to £20,000 and attracting a minimum of 500 in-person attendees. Funds can be used to support eligible sustainable development costs.
Events supporting the visitor economy: awards of between £5,000 to £25,000 are available to larger scale events which can demonstrate alignment with the key impact areas identified in our National Events Strategy, Scotland the Perfect Stage. These events will have delivery budgets in excess of £20,000 and attract more than 1,000 in-person attendees. Funds can be used to support eligible sustainable development costs as set out on this page.
Events will be assessed on their merits and the EventScotland team will look at ways the event will create a positive impact for the host region and Scotland as a whole. Events are assessed in terms of their viability and event management experience as well as the five impact areas; Economic – Tourism and Business; Brand, Identity and Reputation; Media and Profile; Social and Cultural, and; Sustainability. The ability of events to deliver against these event impacts determines the support EventScotland can offer.
Please refer to the full programme guidance document for detailed criteria and conditions of funding.
If you have any queries about the National Events Programme, please email apply@eventscotland.org.
How to apply
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1
Read the guidance
Applicants to the National Events Programme should download and read the full National Events Programme Guidance and Criteria.
National Events Programme 2022 - Guidelines and Criteria
Published January 2022
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2
Submit an enquiry
After reading the guidelines, if you think your event is a fit with the programme, please submit an enquiry.
Please complete an online form on the enquiry form page of this site.
A member of the team will then be in touch to discuss your event and funding request. -
3
Submit your application
The application form is available to download here. Please ensure you complete step two before submitting an application. The EventScotland team are here to help and will be able to provide invaluable advice and guidance around eligibility and suitability of requests.
Please note however that there are no guarantees that an application will be successful; it will be subject to a thorough and competitive assessment process, the outcomes from which will be shared in due course.
National Events Programme Application Form
Published January 2022
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4
Meet the deadline
There are two deadlines for applications to this programme in 2022.
Applications should be submitted by email and in Word format to apply@eventscotland.org by the appropriate deadline:- 11 February 2022 for events happening from April to August 2022
- 6 April 2022 for events happening from September to December 2022