The National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) has announced the finalists for the 2025 NOEA Awards, to be held 26th November at the Roman Baths and Pump Rooms in Bath, and which saw the largest entry level in the award’s history. The shortlist once again celebrates the ingenuity, quality and creativity that continue to define the UK’s outdoor events industry, from major national festivals to pioneering local authorities and independent innovators.
Among the most prestigious honours, the Event of the Year – Private Sector category features a mix of established and emerging stars, including Aldgate in Winter Festival, Slam Dunk Festival, Tiree Music Festival, CarFest, Leadenhall Live, and Alderford & Santa Island Experience.
The quality of the awards was as such that some categories carried two winners, while the highly commended accolade was also used to recognise outstanding achievement. Within the Event Organiser of the Year award features some of the most respected names in the industry, including Peter Martin (Eastbourne), Birmingham Hippodrome, Continental Drifts Ltd, Versatile, and Ghostwriter Consultancy & Events.
Safety and professionalism remain at the heart of the industry, represented by Brian Cleary, Safe Elephant, and CM Production Management in the Best Health & Safety Practice Award. However, looking towards the future of the industry, the Best University or College Events Course category showcases the next generation of event leaders, featuring the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Buckinghamshire New University, University of Greenwich, and Bournemouth University.
“This year’s finalists capture the breadth and brilliance of the UK’s outdoor events community, with the entry levels over double previous years and the highest on record,” said Al Turner, Chair of the NOEA Awards Judges. “Every category tells a story of innovation and dedication — from organisers who bring people together, to the educators, suppliers, and creative minds shaping the future of the industry.”
Among the other stand-out categories this year, the Best Accessibility & Inclusion Initiative recognises projects and people driving greater equality across events, with finalists EventWell, Arena, Continental Drifts Ltd, Accessible Events, Leicester City Council Festivals & Events, and Ilona Porter Mucky Weekender all demonstrating exceptional leadership in inclusive event design. Equally, the Sustainability Award recognises those making real progress toward greener, more responsible events, with Power Logistics, LS Events, Ginger Owl Productions (GOAllAreas), Roder UK, Versatile, and Treehouse Festival all shortlisted.
“These awards remain a showcase of what makes our industry world-class; just making the short list is an achievement in its own right,” added Susan Tanner, CEO, NOEA. “Every year, we’re inspired by the people and projects that make outdoor events not just happen but thrive. This year’s finalists have once again set the standard.”
For the full awards shortlist, visit the NOEA Awards website here.
The European Film Academy has shortlisted 67 films, which will be available to receive nominations for the 38th European Film Awards, taking place on January 17, 2026.
The shortlist includes 44 feature films, 15 documentary films, and 8 animated feature films, with 27 shortlisted films directed or co-directed by women. 34 European – both EU and non-EU – countries are represented. The list was voted for by the members of the European Film Academy.
Titles that made the list include Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest Bugonia, Mascha Schilinski’s Cannes favorite Sound Of Falling, and On Falling, the debut feature from filmmaker Laura Carreira and produced by Jack Thomas-O’Brien of Sixteen Films. Scroll down for the full shortlist.
European Film Awards 2026: Shortlist
FEATURE FILMS (44):
BEARCAVE (ARKOUDOTRYPA) directed by Krysianna B. Papadakis & Stergios Dinopoulos (Greece,
United Kingdom)
BUGONIA directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (United Kingdom, United States, South Korea)
CASE 137 (DOSSIER 137) directed by Dominik Moll (France)
CHRISTY directed by Brendan Canty (Ireland, United Kingdom)
DEAF (SORDA) directed by Eva Libertad (Spain)
DIE MY LOVE directed by Lynne Ramsay (United Kingdom, United States, Canada)
DREAMS (DRØMMER) directed by Dag Johan Haugerud (Norway)
DUSE directed by Pietro Marcello (Italy, France)
FATHER (OTEC) directed by Tereza Nvotová (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland)
FRANZ directed by Agnieszka Holland (Czech Republic, Germany, Poland)
FUORI directed by Mario Martone (Italy, France)
I ONLY REST IN THE STORM (O RISO E A FACA) directed by Pedro Pinho (Portugal, France, Brazil,
Romania)
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (UN SIMPLE ACCIDENT) directed by Jafar Panahi (France, Iran,
Luxembourg)
LA GRAZIA directed by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)
LATE SHIFT (HELDIN) directed by Petra Volpe (Switzerland, Germany)
LITTLE TROUBLE GIRLS (KAJ TI JE DEKLICA) directed by Urška Djukić (Slovenia, Italy, Croatia,
Serbia)
LOVE ME TENDER directed by Anna Cazenave Cambet (France)
LOVEABLE (ELSKLING) directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir (Norway)
MASPALOMAS directed by Jose Mari Goenaga & Aitor Arregi (Spain)
MILK TEETH (DINTI DE LAPTE) directed by Mihai Mincan (Romania, France, Denmark, Greece,
Bulgaria)
MIRRORS NO. 3 (MIROIRS NO. 3) directed by Christian Petzold (Germany)
MOTHER directed by Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia, Belgium)
ON FALLING directed by Laura Carreira (United Kingdom, Portugal)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA directed by Tarzan Nasser & Arab Nasser (France, Palestine,
Germany, Portugal, Qatar, Jordan)
ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHEN HEMME DIES (HEMME’NİN ÖLDÜĞÜ GÜNLERDEN BİRİ) directed by
Murat Fıratoğlu (Turkey, Germany)
PALESTINE 36 directed by Annemarie Jacir (Palestine, United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Norway)
PILLION directed by Harry Lighton (United Kingdom)
ROMERIA (ROMERÍA) directed by Carla Simón (Spain, Germany)
SENTIMENTAL VALUE (AFFEKSJONSVERDI) directed by Joachim Trier (Norway, France, Denmark,
Germany, Sweden)
SILENT FRIEND directed by Ildikó Enyedi (Germany, France, Hungary)
SIRAT (SIRÂT) directed by Oliver Laxe (Spain, France)
SLEEPLESS CITY (CIUDAD SIN SUEÑO) directed by Guillermo Galoe (Spain, France)
SOUND OF FALLING (IN DIE SONNE SCHAUEN) directed by Mascha Schilinski (Germany)
SUNDAYS (LOS DOMINGOS) directed by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Spain)
THE LAST VIKING (DEN SIDSTE VIKING) directed by Anders Thomas Jensen (Denmark, Sweden)
THE LITTLE SISTER (LA PETITE DERNIÈRE) directed by Hafsia Herzi (France, Germany)
THE LOVE THAT REMAINS (ÁSTIN SEM EFTIR ER) directed by Hlynur Pálmason (Iceland, Denmark,
Sweden, France)
THE NORTH directed by Bart Schrijver (Netherlands)
THE STRANGER (L’ÉTRANGER) directed by François Ozon (France)
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB directed by Kaouther Ben Hania (France, Tunisia)
TWO PROSECUTORS directed by Sergei Loznitsa (France, Germany, Netherlands, Latvia, Romania,
Lithuania)
WHAT MARIELLE KNOWS (WAS MARIELLE WEISS) directed by Frédéric Hambalek (Germany)
YES (KEN) directed by Nadav Lapid (France, Israel, Cyprus, Germany)
YOUNG MOTHERS (JEUNES MÈRES) directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne (Belgium,
France)
DOCUMENTARY FILMS (15):
AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE (TARDES DE SOLEDAD) directed by Albert Serra (Spain, France)
AN AMERICAN PASTORAL (UNE PASTORALE AMERICAINE) directed by Auberi Edler (France)
ANCESTRAL VISIONS OF THE FUTURE directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (France, Lesotho,
Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia)
FIUME O MORTE! directed by Igor Bezinović (Croatia, Slovenia, Italy)
FLOPHOUSE AMERICA directed by Monica Strømdahl (Norway, Netherlands, United States)
GOOD VALLEY STORIES (HISTORIAS DEL BUEN VALLE) directed by José Luis Guerin (Spain,
France)
HAIR, PAPER, WATER… (TÓC, GIẤY VÀ NƯỚC…) directed by Nicolas Graux & Minh Quý Trương
(Belgium, France, Vietnam)
LISTEN TO THE VOICES (KOUTÉ VWA) directed by Maxime Jean-Baptiste (Belgium, France)
MEMORY directed by Vladlena Sandu (France, Netherlands)
MILITANTROPOS directed by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova & Simon Mozgovyi (Ukraine, Austria,
France)
RIEFENSTAHL directed by Andres Veiel (Germany)
SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH (PISNI ZEMLI SHSCHO POVOLNO HORYT) directed by Olha
Zhurba (Ukraine, France, Denmark, Sweden)
THE SHARDS (OSKOLKY) directed by Masha Chernaya (Georgia, Germany)
TWST / THINGS WE SAID TODAY directed by Andrei Ujică (France, Romania)
WITH HASAN IN GAZA directed by Kamal Aljafari (Germany)
ANIMATED FEATURE FILMS (8):
ARCO directed by Ugo Bienvenu (France)
BALENTES directed by Giovanni Columbu (Italy, Germany)
CHECKERED NINJA 3 (TERNET NINJA 3) directed by Anders Matthesen & Thorbjørn Christoffersen
(Denmark)
DANDELION’S ODYSSEY (PLANETES) directed by Momoko Seto (France)
DOG OF GOD (DIEVA SUNS) directed by Raitis Abele & Lauris Abele (Latvia, United States)
LITTLE AMELIE (AMÉLIE ET LA MÉTAPHYSIQUE DES TUBES) directed by Maïlys Vallade & LianeCho Han (France)
OLIVIA AND THE INVISIBLE EARTHQUAKE (L’OLÍVIA I EL TERRATRÈMOL INVISIBLE) directed by
Irene Iborra Rizo (Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Chile)
TALES FROM THE MAGIC GARDEN (POHADKY PO BABICCE) directed by David Súkup, Patrik
Pašš, Leon Vidmar & Jean-Claude Rozec (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, France)
The full list of nominees for the 2025 Mercury Prize has been announced, with the shortlist including Sam Fender, Fontaines D.C., PinkPantheress and more.
Celebrating the work of both esteemed and emerging artists from U.K and Ireland, the Mercury Prize is awarded annually and recognizes artistic achievement in LPs across a range of genres. Recent winners include English Teacher (2024), Ezra Collective (2023), Little Simz (2022), Arlo Parks (2021) and Michael Kiwanuka (2020). The Prize was first awarded in 1992 to Primal Scream for Screamadelica, and winners include collections by Pulp (1996), PJ Harvey (2001, 2011) and Arctic Monkeys (2006).
Among those featured on the 12-strong shortlist are Fontaines D.C., who have enjoyed a banner year following the release of fourth LP Romance, in August 2024. The Irish band also received a Mercury Prize nomination for their debut album, 2019’s Dogrel, and have since gone on to headline London’s Finsbury Park as well as arenas across the U.K. and Ireland. Fontaines D.C. snagged best international group at the 2025 BRIT Awards, their second win in that category.
Sam Fender, who boasts 2025’s biggest opening week sales in the U.K. so far, is nominated for People Watching. The North Shields-born musician was previously nominated for his second LP Seventeen Going Under and performed a number of large headline shows this summer, including the 80,000-capacity London Stadium and Manchester’s Wythenshawe Park.
FKA twigs is also recognised for third LP EUSEXUA, her highest-charting record yet on the Billboard 200 (No. 24). CMAT’s Euro-Country, which recently peaked at No. 2 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, gives the Irish country-pop star her second nomination for a Mercury Prize following Crazymad, For Me (2023).
Wolf Alice’s The Clearing picks up a nod, and follows their 2018 victory for Visions of a Life. Pulp’s comeback LP More, their first since 2001, and PinkPantheress’ mixtape Fancy That also feature on the nominations list.
The list is rounded out by Jacob Alon’s In Limerance; Emma-Jean Thackray’s Weirdo; Joe Webb’s Hamstrings & Hurricanes; Martin Carthy’s Transform Me Then Into A Fish; and Pa Salieu’s Afrikan Alien. View the nominations in full below.
The 2025 awards show will be presented Oct. 16, at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle – the first time the ceremony has been hosted outside of London in its 33 year history. The event will feature live performances from nominees and will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner.
The shortlist was revealed at a launch event for the British press, held in central London. It was also announced live on BBC Radio 6 Music by host Lauren Laverne. As the Mercury Prize’s broadcast partner, BBC Music will provide coverage of the event across TV, radio, and online.
Albums released between Jul. 13, 2024 and Aug. 29, 2025 were eligible for consideration this year. The 12 shortlisted albums were chosen by an independent judging panel chaired by Jeff Smith, head of music, BBC 6 Music & Radio 2.
This year’s committee consisted of: Danielle Perry – broadcaster & writer; Jamie Cullum – musician & broadcaster; Jamz Supernova – broadcaster & DJ; Lea Stonhill – music programming consultant; Mistajam – songwriter, DJ & broadcaster; Phil Alexander – creative director, Kerrang!/contributing editor, Mojo; Sian Eleri – broadcaster & DJ; Will Hodgkinson – chief rock & pop critic, The Times; and Sophie Williams – writer & broadcaster.
Mercury Prize 2025 shortlist:
- CMAT, EURO-COUNTRY
- Emma-Jean Thackray, Weirdo
- FKA twigs, EUSEXUA
- Fontaines D.C., Romance
- Jacob Alon, In Limerence
- Joe Webb, Hamstrings & Hurricanes
- Martin Carthy, Transform Me Then Into A Fish
- Pa Salieu, Afrikan Alien
- PinkPantheress, Fancy That
- Pulp, More
- Sam Fender, People Watching
- Wolf Alice, The Clearing