Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice

Published 20 Feb 2026, 14:26 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

T2730 - Development, Management and Delivery of Culture Night Belfast 2026

Authority: Belfast City Council (Local council)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable

Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79)Recreational, cultural and sporting services (92) Delivery: Northern Ireland (UKN06)

Published estimate£300,000≈ £400k / year · £360,000 inc. VAT20% above final estimate

Submissions closed 2 Apr 2026awarded 27 Apr 2026

Awarded to MayWe Events Ltd2 awards

Contract term 9 moends 10 Feb 2027 · up to 10 Feb 2028 with extensions · starts 11 May 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

An experienced Contractor is required to develop, manage, and deliver Culture Night Belfast 2026. The key components of this tender will include:

Large-scale event management skills and curation of events.
Co-design of events with individual artists or contributors.
Knowledge of the cultural sector, including funded and non-funded organisations, freelance, artists, libraries and heritage, as well as strong existing relationships with the sector across the city.
Safety, accessibility and communication with key stakeholders and statutory agencies.
Marketing resources appropriate for an event of this scale.

No preliminary market engagement: The Department did not have sufficient time to undertake a formal PME exercise. A thorough review process of Culture Night 2025 was carried out, which provided the Department with an in-depth understanding of the capacity of the sector. An associated evaluation report was produced, which includes recommendations for the delivery of future Culture Nights in Belfast - this will be part of the tender pack and all prospective Bidders will have access to the same information.

CPV: Cultural event organisation services · Event services · Recreational, cultural and sporting services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1AwardedRenewal 9 moSMEVCSEPublished value£300,000

Contract period: 11 May 2026 – 10 Feb 2027 (9 mo) · up to 10 Feb 2028 with extensionsValue: £300,000 exc. VAT · £360,000 inc. VAT

Delivery: Northern IrelandEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

Extensions: If the Council renews the contract, the following optional service will be delivered: - Development, Management, and Delivery of Culture Night Belfast 2027. · The Council reserves the right to extend/renew the Contract for up to a further 12 months. Any extension may be subject to further approval by Council Committee, availability of funding and satisfactory performance of the Contractor.

79952000 Event services 79952100 Cultural event organisation services 92000000 Recreational, cultural and sporting services

Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2

Economic & financial standing
Modern Slavery Statement.
GDPR Compliance.
Safeguarding.
Insurances.
See tender documents for further information.
Technical & professional ability
Previous Experience Event Manager/Producer.
Previous Experience of Team Members.
Health and Safety Management System.
Social Value Procurement Policy - Organisational Behaviours.
See tender documents for further information.

What it takes to win
i
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 more

How bids were scored

Quality: 85%Social value: 15%

Published sub-criteria (6)

Understanding of Requirements: 15%
Proposed Approach/Concept: 20%
Marketing and Communications: 20%
Resource and Budget Plan: 20%
Stakeholder Engagement/Management: 10%
Social Value: 15%

Published award criteria (6)

Understanding of Requirements: See ITT document of tender pack.
Proposed Approach/Concept: See ITT document of tender pack.
Marketing and Communications: See ITT document of tender pack.
Resource and Budget Plan: See ITT document of tender pack.
Stakeholder Engagement/Management: See ITT document of tender pack.
Social Value: See ITT document of tender pack.

Conditions of participation2

Economic & financial standing
Modern Slavery Statement.
GDPR Compliance.
Safeguarding.
Insurances.
See tender documents for further information.
Technical & professional ability
Previous Experience Event Manager/Producer.
Previous Experience of Team Members.
Health and Safety Management System.
Social Value Procurement Policy - Organisational Behaviours.
See tender documents for further information.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

Procedure method: Open procedure
Legal basis: UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category: Services
Notice status: Awarded
Procurement threshold: Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime: Standard
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered: Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement: Unspecified in notice
First published: 20 Feb 2026, 14:26 GMT
Last source update: 11 May 2026, 08:47 BST
Award evaluation window: Submission end – 1 May 2026
Authority reference: T2730
FTS notice number: 2026/S 000-015723
Latest notice: Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV): Cultural event organisation servicesEvent servicesRecreational, cultural and sporting services
Delivery area: Northern Ireland (UKN06)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06595f Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: Jaggaer · Who buys & how to bid on JAGGAER

Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN

Access & registration note: Free; latest Chrome/Edge/Firefox only — corporate browsers fail

Submission deadline: 2 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
Clarification deadline: 27 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
Submission channel: Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission: Allowed
Accepted languages: en

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

e-sourcingni.bravosolution.co.uk ↗

Timeline

20 Feb 2026 → 11 May 2026 · 8 dates

Tender notice published237 days ago
20 Feb 2026, 14:26 GMT
Clarification questions by202 days ago
27 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
Submission deadline196 days ago
2 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
Assessment summaries sent171 days ago
28 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
Award decision expected by167 days ago
1 May 2026, 23:59 BST
Standstill ends160 days ago
8 May 2026, 23:59 BST
Contract starts158 days ago
11 May 2026, 00:00 BST
Latest notice published157 days ago
11 May 2026, 08:47 BST

Notice history

5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 20 Feb 2026

Tender notice published
20 Feb 2026, 14:26 GMT
UK4
Contract award notice published
28 Apr 2026, 08:55 BST
UK6
Status changed to complete
28 Apr 2026, 08:55 BST
Contract details notice published
11 May 2026, 08:47 BST
UK7
Contract signature expected
11 May 2026, 23:59 BST
scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 2some still in standstill

Awarded value (inc. VAT) £360,0001 award inc. VAT; no net value published

Bids received 11 from SMEs

Contracts signed 1latest 11 May 2026

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
MayWe Events LtdSMEDevelopment, Management, and Delivery of Culture Night Belfast 202612 May 2026 – 11 Feb 2027 · up to 11 Feb 2028Extensions: The Council reserves the right to extend/renew the Contract for up to a further 12 months. Any extension may be subject to further approval by Council Committee, availability of funding and satisfactory performance of the Contractor. · Options: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. If the Council renews the contract, the following optional service will be delivered: - Development, Management, and Delivery of Culture Night Belfast 2027.	£360,000 inc. VAT	27 Apr 2026standstill to 8 May 2026	Standstill
MayWe Events LtdSME	—	—	Awarded

Contracts

Development, Management, and Delivery of Culture Night Belfast 2026 · MayWe Events LtdSME
Signed
11 May 2026
Value
£360,000 inc. VAT
Period
12 May 2026 – 11 Feb 2027 · up to 11 Feb 2028 with extensions
Status
active
Extensions
The Council reserves the right to extend/renew the Contract for up to a further 12 months. Any extension may be subject to further approval by Council Committee, availability of funding and satisfactory performance of the Contractor
Options
The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. If the Council renews the contract, the following optional service will be delivered: - Development, Management, and Delivery of Culture Night Belfast 2027.
No agreed KPIs: Culture Night is a one day event and as such, the department did not want to put an unnessecary administrative burden on the Supplier.

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
1final-stage tenders	1	1	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Belfast City Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentNorthern Irish devolved regulations apply GB-PPON: PQXY-5321-CGZM 9-21 Adelaide Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT2 8DJContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

MayWe Events LtdAwarded supplierGB-PPON: PDGT-8427-ZYHN Greenwood Business Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT4 3GYContact email

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender11 May 2026, 08:47 BST
Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender28 Apr 2026, 08:55 BST
Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender20 Feb 2026, 14:26 GMT