Last night, 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.
THE STATISTICS BEHIND THE AWARD IN 2026
| 5 main categories | up to 20 subcategories | 12 special awards | up to 3 optional budget awards |
| 105 finalists | 24 finalist countries | 10 Slovenian projects | 12 criteria segments |
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.
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 Zsolt Kft, 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.
