Candidate City Bid Support
Candidate City Bid Support
Funding up to the value of £20,000 can be granted to assist in bid costs for an international business event that is not currently held in Britain. In exceptional circumstances, backed by a strong business case, cities requiring more than £20,000 for a single bid may be considered however this is subject to available funds.
Funds can be used to support the following activities:
- Site visits, including contribution towards accommodation and flight costs (5*, first or business class is not allowed)
- Bid pitch, including costs for support and production of the pitch
- Production of bid booklet to distribute
- Translation costs of a bid
- Communications and digital activity, website, film or other content to support the bid
- Media/social media activity in support of the bid, such as industry/sector channels and networks relating specifically to the sector of the event being bid for
Who can apply
We welcome applications from:
- Convention Bureaus (CVBs)
- Destination Management Organisations (DMOs)
- Venues & Professional Congress Organisers (PCOs) who are partnering with CVBs/DMOs.
Please note: all applications will be assessed against the criteria outlined in the Candidate City Bid Support guidelines. If an applicant does not fulfil the mandatory eligibility criteria, the application will not be accepted.
How to apply
- Read carefully the application guidelines, paying attention to the fund’s objectives and eligibility criteria.
- If you fulfil the mandatory eligibility criteria, please visit VisitBritain/VisitEngland Grants portal and register an account to get started.
- Once registered with an account, you can start an application for Candidate City Bid Support from the available grants page, and submit it for review.
Please note: It can take up to six weeks from when the application is received to receive a Grant Funding Agreement. Applications will be considered by an appointed panel of industry experts, and applicants will be contacted if additional information is required.
Be aware that submitting a request for support, regardless of whether the criteria is satisfied, does not ensure that the support will be made available under this or any other initiative.
There is no guarantee that all events or activity will be deemed appropriate or offered grant funding. VisitBritain, at its discretion, will determine where, when and how support will be offered and provided.
Candidate City Bid Support roadmap
How Candidate City Bid Support helped Glasgow’s world-class conference win
Held in nations throughout Europe, the annual Euroanaesthesia Congress is one of the world’s most influential hybrid scientific events. It focuses on anaesthesia, intensive care, pain, perioperative medicine and critical emergency medicine, and attracts over 8,000 attendees from more than 100 countries.
Candidate City Bid Support funding enabled the Glasgow bidding team to attend the ESA Board Meeting in Brussels in December 2019, to present the city’s bid to host the 2023 congress. This included live presentations to the ESA Board, followed by a detailed question and answer session. Glasgow received nine of the 10 ESA Board votes, in favour of the congress being held in Glasgow in 2023.
