Events & Festivals Funding Opportunities
The Adelaide Economic Development Agency (AEDA) invests in an annual calendar of events and festivals, on behalf of the City of Adelaide (CoA), to drive visitation, spend and support for local businesses as well as increase the profile of the city and North Adelaide as a tourist destination. The calendar includes a mix of arts, culture, music, sport and food and wine events/festivals held throughout the year.
Events & Festivals Sponsorship Program
The purpose of the program is to provide financial support to eligible not-for-profit organisations to assist in the staging of medium and major events/festivals that create a vibrant and dynamic city experience and support the outcomes of the City of Adelaide (CoA) Strategic Plan 2024-2028 and the AEDA Strategic Plan FY 2024/25 - 2028/29.
Applications for the 2025/2026 Events and Festivals Sponsorship Program are now open and close Monday 21 April 2025 at midnight (end of day).
This is the only opportunity to apply for sponsorship funding for events and festivals held between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2028.
Funding may be provided for up to 3 years.
How to apply
Before commencing an application via SmartyGrants, make sure you have:
- Read Council’s Funding Programs Policy, which details the framework for how CoA provides and manages funding to individuals and organisations applying for support.
- Read the Guidelines in full.
- Contacted the Event Sponsorship and Attraction Advisor or Sponsorship and Partnership Coordinator to discuss your application. Please refer below for contact details.
*Please note AEDA staff and SmartyGrants will be unavailable to take enquiries after 5pm on Thursday 17 April 2025.
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Important Dates
| 17 March 2025 | Sponsorship applications open (one round only) |
| 21 April 2025 | Sponsorship applications close at midnight (end of day) |
| May 2025 | Applications assessed by AEDA/CoA staff and a panel consisting of subject matter experts |
| May 2025 | Funding recommendations for events/festival held in July and August 2025 presented to AEDA Board for consideration and approval |
| May 2025 | Applicants notified of funding request outcome (in principle) for events/festivals held in July and August 2025 |
| June 2025 | Remaining funding recommendations presented to AEDA Board for consideration and approval |
| June 2025 | City of Adelaide Business Plan and Budget approved |
| Late June 2025 | Applicants notified of funding request outcome |
Please see the list of 2024/25 successful applicants here.
Need more information?
For more information and to discuss your request, please contact:
Paula Stankiewicz, Event Sponsorship and Attraction Advisor
08 8203 7318
OR
James Landseer, Sponsorship and Partnership Coordinator
08 8203 7802
Commercial Events and Festivals Sponsorship Program 2025
The purpose of the program is to provide financial support to eligible for-profit organisations to assist in the staging of events and festivals that create a vibrant and dynamic city experience and support the outcomes of the City of Adelaide (CoA) Strategic Plan 2024-2028 and the AEDA Strategic Plan FY 2024/25 - 2028/29.
This program is currently closed.
For the best experience, please download this document and open it using Adobe Acrobat. If you are viewing this document in your browser, please right click and open any links in a new window.
The Commercial Events and Festivals Sponsorship Program is administered by AEDA, a subsidiary of CoA.
Please see the list of the 2025 successful applicants here.
