The 2023 National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) Awards took place last night (22nd November) and saw Culture Liverpool take away the ‘Best Events Team – Local Authority’ award, and Eurovision 2023 win the ‘Event of the Year Award – Public Sector’, at the gala celebration.
The evening recognised events, event businesses, and individuals across the industry in what has been a tough but positive year for the sector. In a day which saw the earlier convention address the subject of ‘Future’, the evening recognised specific contributions to the industry that point to positivity for outdoor events.
As well as Liverpool continuing to receive accolades for another stunning year of events within the city, Grimsby was awarded ‘The Placemaking Award’ a new category which recognised the contribution of the city’s Grim Falfest in spurring both civic pride and economic growth in the city.
The Placemaking award was also given to We Are Placemaking for the businesses continued advocacy for placemaking within the events industry and across the UK. At the same time, the Event of the Year Award – Private Sector, was awarded to Weston Beach Race – RHL Activities, another event which brings in a global audience.
Other awards of note included Qdos Events Hire picking up the ‘Best Accessibility & Inclusion Initiative’, and Natural Event Europe, winning ‘The Sustainability Award’. On an individual perspective, the ‘Best Up and Coming Event Organiser: The One to Watch’ was awarded to Sarah Belcher, from Sarah Belcher Events, while the ‘Best Unsung Hero / Heroine Awards’, were given to Sophie Merivale, The Traffic Management Co, and Terry Marsh – Qdos Events Hire, respectively.
The judges of the awards underlined both the fierce competition across every award category, and the quality of the entries, the largest in the events history. The judges commented:
“This has been a year where events have shown their true value to the UK. Eurovision lit everyone’s imagination, while Grim Falfest showed what we can do for local communities.
At the same time, we saw event professionals young and old recognised as the powerhouse behind these incredible events, making them safe, creative, beautiful, inspiring, and memorable.”
The Annual Convention and Awards Dinner was held in the Roman Baths and Pump Rooms, Bath.
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