
Organisations from 10 countries are in the running for recognition in Europe’s most prestigious sponsorship awards – scheduled for a return to London in 2022.
The 2022 ESA Awards will showcase a wide panorama of the sponsorship industry and demonstrate how brands, rights holders, agencies and other organisations continued to rise to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver market-leading results.
The shortlisted entries for the 2022 ESA Awards were revealed today by the European Sponsorship Association (ESA). The full list can be viewed by clicking here.
After a virtual ESA Awards in 2021, plans are in place for a live ceremony in London in the first quarter of 2022 – reuniting ESA’s multi-national community to celebrate the best of the industry. Entry will be permitted according to strict COVID-19 protocols.
Judging will take place into January, with sponsorship experts from 18 markets coming together to decide the winners of each category. The full list of judges can be viewed by clicking here.
After a record-breaking number of entries in 2021, the 2022 ESA Awards offers another chance to recognise the best of the sponsorship industry in the face of adversity.
New, returning and amended categories in 2022 are as follows:
New / returning categories
- Event of the Year
- Agency of the Year (Pan-Europe)
- Agency of the Year (Single Nation)
Amended categories
- Esports and Gaming Sponsorship
- Purpose-led Sponsorship
- Rights Holder of the Year
ESA Chairman, Andy Westlake, said: “As in 2021, the theme of the 2022 ESA Awards is ‘celebrating innovation; overcoming adversity’. I would challenge anyone who sees the exceptional quality of the shortlisted entries not to be inspired by what our industry has achieved.
“Following the winter lockdowns that led our community to again demonstrate the digital agility it showed throughout 2020, the summer of 2021 featured many unforgettable events across sport, arts and culture. This provided opportunities to renew the unique and vibrant connection with fans and audiences that is created by live experience.
“I believe I speak for the majority of our community when I say that we are all dearly hoping to experience the ESA Awards live and in person in London – COVID-19 protocols permitting. In light of recent changes to Government guidance we are looking closely at the implications for the ceremony and will provide more information very soon.”
ESA Awards Committee Chair, Jackie Fast, added: “We’re thrilled to reveal the shortlist for the 2022 ESA Awards. The judges will have their work cut out deciding which of these world-class sponsorship activations are most deserving of recognition.
“We’re all hoping for an in-person ceremony in 2022 and we’ve been working on some really attractive early bird offers and other ticketing incentives. With so much uncertainty around the sponsorship and live events industry in the past two years, we really want to give our guests as much value as possible on top of the excitement of attending Europe’s most prestigious sponsorship awards.”
DataPOWA was announced in November as Event Partner of the 2022 ESA Awards. The sports marketing and data analytics business will also sponsor the Sport Sponsorship > €5M category.
The other category sponsors for 2022 are caytoo, Dataflow Events, Sponsorium and vVenues.
-ENDS-
For media queries, please contact:
Jonathan Coates | ESA Marketing, Communications and Events Manager
jonathancoates@sponsorship.org | +44 7788 352219