- Nigel Owens MBE to host 2023 ceremony in London
- Tickets on sale with almost 100 organisations in contention
- ESA Chairman pays tribute to ‘outstanding creativity and innovation’
Brands, rights holders and agencies from across Europe are in the running for recognition in Europe’s most prestigious sponsorship awards.
The 2023 ESA Awards ceremony in London on Thursday 9 March will provide a panoramic view of the sponsorship industry and demonstrate the power of partnerships in delivering on business objectives – in many cases for the benefit of wider society.
The Awards will again take place at The Brewery venue and tables and tickets can now be purchased with an early bird discount available until 6 January 2023.
The shortlist – revealed today – highlights a wide range of best practice in arts, culture, entertainment and sports sponsorship. Almost 100 organisations from Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and the UK feature on the shortlist, with the ESA Best of Europe nominees still to come.
Nigel Owens MBE will host the 2023 ESA Awards.
Recognised as one of the world’s best rugby referees, Nigel’s campaigning work in equality, inclusion and mental health has seen him win numerous awards and Honorary Doctorates and Fellowships from four universities.
Born and bred on a council estate in Wales, and a fluent Welsh speaker, he first picked up his whistle aged 16 and officiated his first international game in 2005 before making his Rugby World Cup debut in 2007 in France.
Nigel retired in 2020 after becoming the first person to referee 100 Test matches – and entertaining millions of viewers with his sharp sense of humour. He now splits his time between events and media appearances, coaching young referees and rearing cattle on his farm in Wales.
ESA’s mission is to inspire, unite and grow a welcoming and diverse sponsorship industry – and the ESA Awards is designed to reflect that purpose, with a flexible entry format to suit all nationalities and reduced entry prices from 2022.
The ESA Awards is renowned for credibility in judging, with 80 senior sponsorship and marketing professionals from 17 countries forming the judging panel.
ESA Chairman Andy Westlake said: “It’s clear from looking at the 2023 ESA Awards shortlist that this was the year the sponsorship industry moved on from the pandemic with outstanding creativity and innovation.
“We saw major live events return across all forms of sport and culture, bringing brands and fans together at the heart of some incredible experiences.
“The ESA Awards is a fantastic annual celebration of the power of sponsorship as an integrated part of the marketing mix. We have a dynamic international community, and we are all very much looking forward to coming together in March to celebrate the very best in sponsorship.”
Matthew Leopold, Chair of the ESA Awards Committee, added: “High-quality entries and high-quality judging are two of the hallmarks of the ESA Awards, which help to underpin its credibility within the industry.
“I’m delighted that this year is no exception, and the shortlist features a vast variety of impressive entries from across Europe, which our panel is looking forward to discussing next week.”
ESA would like to thank the event sponsors that make a vital contribution to the success of the ESA Awards. DataPOWA, Sponsorium, caytoo, CSM Live, Dataflow Events and SPORTO have renewed their support for 2023. For sponsorship opportunities please contact us at opportunity@sponsorship.org.
-ENDS-
For media queries, please contact:
Jonathan Coates | ESA Marketing, Communications and Events Manager
marketing@sponsorship.org | +44 (0) 7788 352219