Terms & conditions

Scroll down for the FestivalFinder.eu regulations, EFFE Label regulations and EFFE Award regulations

1.General

1.1.Legal body

  1. The European Festivals Association (EFA) is the legal body of the FestivalFinder.eu platform and the issuing of the EFFE Label and Award as well as other elements of the programme “Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe” (EFFE). EFA has the right to delegate other legal bodies to operate individual elements of the platform.
  2. The EFFE Label is envisioned as biennial programme. The actual edition runs for 2024 and 2025.

1.2.Festival identification

On FestivalFinder.eu, a festival is identified by an email address and its name.

FESTIVALFINDER.EU REGULATIONS

2.Registration

2.1.Online registration

A festival can register anytime online via www.festivalfinder.eu. A valid email address is needed to create an account and start the registration for one or more festivals. The access to the account is protected by a password.

2.2.Language

The official language of the FestivalFinder.eu is English. During the registration procedure, all information must be submitted in English.

2.3.Duration and cost

After successful verification, the registered festival will be published on FestivalFinder.eu for one year starting from the date of publication. For the first year, the registration is for free. For subsequent years, EFA has the right to ask an annual registration fee. The festival can delete its account at any time.

3.Conditions

3.1.Applicant should be an Arts Festival

  1. The festival has its primary focus on the development, presentation and/or participation in arts and culture, including the following disciplines: Architecture - Circus - Dance – Design - Applied Arts – Digital Arts - Film - Heritage – Literature - Music – Opera - Photography - Spoken Word - Storytelling – Street Arts - Theatre - Visual Arts - Folklore and Folk Arts - Fantasy.
  2. The festival occurs in a defined area/region and a defined period of time.
  3. The festival takes place in one of the participating countries.
  4. The festival exists for at least one edition.

3.2.Excluded are

  1. a festival which does not have a primary focus on arts (arts is secondary).
  2. masterclasses, educational activities or fairs in the first place where the festival is secondary.
  3. an activity with a year-round programme (e.g. a venue) which does not present a festival within a certain defined period of time.

3.3.Eligible countries

FestivalFinder.eu includes arts festivals from 45 countries:

  1. The EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden.
  2. The Creative Europe countries: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Ukraine
  3. Other included countries: Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom (UK)

3.4.Promotion

  1. The registered festival will do its best to promote the FestivalFinder.eu towards colleague festivals.
  2. The registered festival will distribute the FestivalFinder.eu logo to a maximum extend by putting it on its website and mentioning it on the appropriate expressions (on- and offline) in its communication campaigns.
  3. The registered festival agrees to receive further information from EFA related to the FestivalFinder.eu.

3.5.Verification

  1. EFA verifies if the registering festival fulfils the conditions as stated under 3. Conditions.
  2. After successful verification, the information of the registered festival is published on FestivalFinder.eu.
  3. EFA has the right to refuse the publication of a registering festival.

EFFE LABEL REGULATIONS

4.Eligibility for the EFFE Label

  1. Festivals that apply for the EFFE Label have to be registered on FestivalFinder.eu.
  2. As Switzerland, Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan are not yet participating in Europe’s Creative Europe programme, festivals in those countries can receive the EFFE Label +, indicating their special status: they are not eligible for the EFFE Award.

5.The EFFE Label

  1. The EFFE Label can be received in the period between 16 October 2023 until 31 December 2025 and is called EFFE Label 2024-2025.
  2. The only way to apply for the EFFE Label is online on FestivalFinder.eu.
  3. Applications must be submitted in English.
  4. Festivals can apply for the EFFE Label 2024-2025 at any moment in the 2-year period. The EFFE Label 2024-2025 stays valid until the end of the 2-year period (until 31/12/2025 for the current edition of the programme).
  5. Festivals have to fulfil a minimum of 7 of the following 10 conditions to receive the EFFE Label.

The festival is embedded in the European artistic, cultural and social reality and:

  • presents a coherent curated artistic programme including international artists.
  • supports on-going artistic development.
  • provides opportunities for upcoming or innovative artists to create or to be presented in your programme.
  • is rooted in its local community fostering local connections in the programme and among the performers/ performances.
  • helps to increase access to culture and attract a diverse audience e.g. through the use of new technologies.
  • takes measures to make the festival more sustainable by e.g. developing new business models through new approaches in funding, production and management.
  • helps to shape, encourage and promote intercultural experience for your audiences and artists.
  • embraces inclusivity as a core principle and practice.
  • invests in innovation and capacity building.
  • engages with the audience e.g. through educational programmes.

6. Applications are validated by EFA. In case of doubt, EFA will ask the advice from the national representation (EFFE Hub) from the country in which the applicant is located. This advice is then presented to the EFFE International Jury, who takes the final decision.

7. EFA has the right to contact the applying festival for further information on its application.

EFFE AWARD REGULATIONS

6.The EFFE Award

  1. All festivals that apply for the EFFE Label 2019-2021 and receive it, are automatically in the running for the next EFFE Awards.
  2. The EFFE International Jury is an independent body and has been composed of prominent individuals whose experiences are reflecting the diversity of the festival landscape in Europe.
  3. The EFFE International Jury is the final decision maker in the verification process of the EFFE Label and the selection of the EFFE Award winners.
  4. Winners from the EFFE Award 2019-2021 have been officially announced during the award ceremony on 26 September 2019.
  5. EFFE Award 2017-2018 winning festivals cannot be selected for the Award 2019-2021.
  6. The EFFE International Jury decides on the number of EFFE Laureates and EFFE Awards and defines the decision process.

7.Conflict of Interest Code

In case members of the EFFE International Jury are involved in the capacity of member of the personnel or member of the board of a festival that received the EFFE Label, that festival is excluded for the EFFE Award 2019-2021.

8.Disclaimer

The entry of a festival’s application for the EFFE Label implies the unconditional acceptance of the terms and conditions as well as the consent to make the application content available to EFA and to the members of the EFFE International Jury.

Any application failing to comply with these terms and conditions may be disqualified by EFA or by the EFFE International Jury.

9.Rights of use

  1. EFA is not responsible for any rights on the submitted content. The festival must have the copyright of any media or have the permission to use it.
  2. All graphic material sent in by the festivals is released free of charge for use in all publications (website, printed material, press).
  3. The registering festival grants EFA the right to copy all or part of the materials submitted for verification and/or promotional purposes.