Official UK procurement notice
003550 - Flagship Festival 2027
Authority: Durham County Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDurham County Council is seeking an experienced and innovative delivery partner to develop and deliver a new flagship cultural event for County Durham.
The Council is looking for a bold, ambitious and distinctive proposition that represents a step change from traditional festival models and has the potential to become a recurring, nationally recognised event. The successful proposal should be original, participatory and rooted in County Durham's unique identity, bringing together culture, creativity, innovation, technology and community engagement.
The event should create a defining cultural moment for the county, enhancing its reputation as a place of creativity and excellence, while delivering lasting cultural, social and economic benefits. Proposals must demonstrate strong opportunities for participation, skills development and talent progression, particularly for children and young people, ensuring local communities play an active role in shaping and delivering the event.
- How the procedure runs: Stage 1: Procurement Specific Questionnaire / Conditions of Participation Stage 2: Competitive Dialogue and Presentation Stage 3: Competitive Dialogue (Session 2) and Final Proposal
CPV: Exhibition, fair and congress organisation services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£1,500,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (3)
- Final Proposal: 60%
- Price: 30%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
- Final Proposal
- Price
- Social Value
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Durham County Council buys Exhibition, fair and congress organisation services (CPV 7995), and who usually turns up
Durham County Council’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Exhibition, fair and congress organisation services (CPV 7995) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in North East England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 21 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid0% / 33%
2–30% / 0%
4–643% / 33%
7+57% / 33%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate0% / 22%
Within ±2%100% / 67%
Above estimate0% / 11%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7995Published estimate£1.5m
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid35%
2–323%
4–633%
7+8%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
Based on 8 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£1.5m
Estimate£1.5m
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEL Research LtdWorked for this buyer | DCC Festivals & Events Evaluationnotice published Jan 2025 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
| Smart Distribution Solutions LimitedWorked for this buyer | Distribution of the Durham County News (DCN) & Other Council Publicationsnotice published Apr 2022 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
| City Science Corporation LimitedWorked for this buyer | 3110 - Durham City Heat Network - Phase 2 DPD at Durham Citynotice published Jun 2026 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £2.4m21 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 9 live · £1.7m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=9 | |
| £368k4 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 3 live · £227k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 18% above n=2 | |
| £128k1 awards in 36m · last 7 months ago | 1 live · £128k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=1 | |
| £32k5 awards in 36m · last 7 months ago | 4 live · £339k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 20% below n=1 | |
| £743k3 awards in 36m · last 14 months ago | None on file | at estimate n=1 |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Concession
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 9 Sept 2026, 14:48 BST
- Last source update
- 2 Oct 2026, 07:47 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 2 Feb 2027
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-085456- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f5ceFind a Tender
- How it runs
Stage 1: Procurement Specific Questionnaire / Conditions of Participation
Stage 2: Competitive Dialogue and Presentation
Stage 3: Competitive Dialogue (Session 2) and Final Proposal
How to participate & submission route
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 29 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 28 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
The documents must be downloaded from www.open-uk.org ↗
using the reference 20261993. These will be available from 9th September 2026.
Any questions must be raised though this Open system for a response
Timeline
9 Sept 2026 → 1 Mar 2027 · 6 dates- Tender notice published45 days ago9 Sept 2026, 14:48 BST
- Latest notice published22 days ago2 Oct 2026, 07:47 BST
- Today24 Oct 2026
- Clarification questions byin 4 days28 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 5 days29 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 101 days2 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 127 days1 Mar 2027
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 9 Sept 2026- Tender notice published9 Sept 2026, 14:48 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published2 Oct 2026, 07:47 BSTUK4
- Deadline moved to 29 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT2 Oct 2026, 07:47 BST+21 days · was 8 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender