UK Sponsorship Awards 2025 - Early bird discount deadline: December 20th 2024 - Arts & Cultural Sponsorship free to enter

The early bird deadline for the 2025 edition of the UK Sponsorship Awards (UKSA) is four weeks away (December 20th). With a 10% discount available on individual entries, why not take advantage and have a little extra to spend on the office Christmas Party??

As a special dispensation for 2025, entries into the Arts & Cultural Sponsorship category are free until this date – a huge incentive for cash-strapped arts bodies to get their entries in early this year. The price of entry will revert to the standard price after that – so there’s no time to lose. ?See this week's feature on Arts Sponsorship here.?

Popular perennial categories will be available for entry as always – notably arts, sport, media, diversity, digital activation, rights holder and consultancy. But 2025’s event will also see several exciting innovations. These include an expansion of the international segment and special categories for Olympic and Euro 2024 sponsors.?

“After celebrating our 30th Anniversary last year, The UK Sponsorship Awards is entering its fourth decade in excellent shape,” said UKSA CEO Rosie Sarginson. “But we are conscious that the arts sector has had a torrid time since Covid-19, with budgets under severe pressure. So for this year we are giving the arts community the opportunity to enter for free. By encouraging entries in this way, we hope to provide a showcase that will encourage more sponsors to support the sector.”

Brands, agencies, rights holder, charities and other stakeholders can enter campaigns right now via the UKSA website at the discounted price. Shortlisted entries will be celebrated at UKSA’s 31st gala awards event on March 25th 2025, at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square.

Aside from the categories already mentioned, there will be awards to celebrate women’s sports sponsorship, esports, diversity, social media, branded content and sustainability. Long-running categories such as education, grass roots and PR will also take price of place in the line-up. Also back are the innovation, craft and tech awards.

Company and People Awards are always an important component of the UKSA line-up – and this year is no exception. Rights holders and consultancies will have three categories, and there will be new additions to our Champions of Sponsorship hall of fame. Not to be overlooked is the Barrie Gill Award for Most Promising Young Sponsorship Executive – a signpost towards the sector’s future.

The UK Sponsorship Awards attracts many loyal supporters who attend the event year after year. But there are, of course, newcomers who have never attended. With that in mind, we’ve drawn up a list of ten compelling reasons why it makes sense to enter.

We’ve also drawn up some advice on how to maximise your chances. There’s only one surefire way to win a UK Sponsorship Award – and that’s to convince the judges that your entry is the best. But there are a few ways in which you can improve your odds of getting noticed. Built up over years of feedback from the judges, these insights can help you hone your approach when drafting an eye-catching entry.

For inspiration when entering this year’s UKSA Awards, why not review details of 2024’s winners and nominees? These can be found here.?

For more details on any of the above, contact UKSA Awards organiser Rosie Sarginson at [email protected]. ?Please register here to access full information.?

Please do get in touch with us if you would like any assistance with categories, etc. The team looks forward to seeing your award-winning entries. ?Good luck!

Rosemary Sarginson [email protected]