The second Host City Awards will take place in Glasgow, Scotland to celebrate exceptional accomplishments in hosting, delivering and promoting major events.
The Awards form part of the Host City 2025 conference, hosted at the Technology & Innovation Centre on 2-3 December, with winners announced at the Awards Dinner on the evening of 2 December.
Event hosts, rights holders and suppliers are encouraged to enter appropriate categories:
The Best Event Engagement award will recognise destinations that achieved exceptional audience reach and visibility relative to their size, location or resources.
The Most Sustainable Event award will celebrate events that delivered measurable environmental, social and legacy benefits for their host communities.
The Outstanding Economic Impact award will honour events that generated significant economic value and long-term financial benefits for their destinations.
The Best Commercial Strategy award will reward rights holders and organisers who delivered strong financial results and long-term value through innovative monetisation approaches.
The Strongest Fan Growth award will recognise events that successfully expanded, engaged, and monetised their fan base through effective strategies and platforms.
The Innovation in Event Technology award will spotlight suppliers who introduced groundbreaking technology that enhanced event performance or audience experience.
The Best Event Infrastructure Solution award will recognise outstanding contributions to the physical and digital infrastructure that supported safe, efficient, and sustainable event delivery.
The Excellence in Event Delivery award will honour organisations that played a key role in delivering high-quality event experiences
The Best Use of AI award will recognise outstanding applications of artificial intelligence that improved the planning, delivery, or commercial success of an event.
Organisations register to attend the Host City 2025 conference are eligible to enter for free, submitting concise written entries and optional supporting materials.
The diverse judging panel of highly regarded experts includes Jennifer Arnold, Vice President, U.S. Soccer Foundation; Iain Edmondson, Founder, Legacy Delivery; Sarah Lewis OBE OLY; Brian Lewis, Immediate Past President, Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee; Paul Bush, Chair, British Curling; Céline Payelle, Vice-President and General Manager, Events & Experiences, Cirque du Soleil, and more to be announced.
Matthew Astill, CEO of Cavendish Group, said: “We are very pleased to taking the Host City awards to the next level, following the success of last year’s launch. We look forward to celebrating the achievements of the best and brightest in the global events community in Glasgow.”
Glasgow Life’s Director of Culture, Tourism and Events. Billy Garrett, said: “We’re delighted that the Host City Conference is returning to Glasgow in 2025. This prestigious annual industry event provides an invaluable platform for international partners in our sector to get together to share experiences and insights, and take part in productive discussions and debates on the key issues, challenges and opportunities that host cities face.
“So we’re really looking forward to Glasgow hosting Host City once again, and the fantastic opportunities this important event offers attendees to network and build connections that help foster mutually beneficial partnerships to impact business growth.”
Rob Dickson, Director of Industry and Events at VisitScotland, said: “Events play an important role in our communities, bringing economic benefits, fostering community pride and delivering global recognition. The Host City Awards are an opportunity to recognise and shine a spotlight on the contribution and impact of events, the people who design and deliver them and the innovation they bring.”
