The Realise Award 2025

Presented by EVCOM for young event organisers and aspiring event organisers

In collaboration with Events 101

What is the Realise Award?

The Award will recognise emerging and/ or aspiring event professionals between the ages of 18 – 25 years old. We recognise that the events industry can be hard to break into for young people, especially those from a diverse background. We hope this competition can serve as a way in, a chance to get demonstrable experience and access to the expertise of current event professionals.

Engagement of the next generation of event organisers is an essential part of EVCOM’s work towards a more diverse and inclusive sector. It is important that we understand and hear the voices of the next generation, so that EVCOM can be an association that supports young people in their future careers.

Application is via an application form, for the chance to win mentorship opportunities with top event agencies in the UK.

Can I apply?

The award is open to anyone who is 18 – 25 years old, whether a professional in the industry, a student or an aspiring events professional. If that sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you!

How do I apply?

Please fill in the application form when applications reopen. In the form, we’ll ask you a couple of questions about yourself and your relationship to events. We want to hear about your dream events, find out about events you’ve been to, and hear about what the future of events looks like to you. You’ll be able to upload a CV within the form too, although this is not compulsory.

We encourage applications from all underrepresented minorities, and we are especially looking to hear the voices of Black event organisers, and event organisers of colour.

What are we looking for?

• Creativity and imagination
• A flair for organisation and logistics
• An understanding of what makes a successful event
• A fresh perspective on what the events industry could be
• Passion for the industry

What do I get if I win?

You’ll receive invaluable mentorship opportunities with top event agencies including opportunities to build relationships, ask questions and shadow at events, across the course of a year. Shortlisted applicants will also receive access to a mentorship session each.

The Realise Award 2022

Congratulations to the shortlisted candidates and winners of The Realise Award 2022. We are really excited to work with you and our mentors to support your development and progression in the events industry.

The shortlisted candidates were:

Amelia Bithell

Courtney Lilley

James Mason

And the winner is:

Courtney Lilley

We were delighted to welcome mentors from Broadsword Events Group, TFI Lodestar, Bloomberg and NexGen Healthcare. We couldn’t do this without you! You can hear from our 2022 mentors below:

Joining us for the second year running is Anna Green, Managing Director at Broadsword Events. Anna says, “It is an absolute privilege to be chosen as a mentor for the Realise award, helping an aspiring young event professional to reach their goals. But mentorship is not a one-way street, I find it personally rewarding and inspiring to work with the next generation. I’m continually surprised by how much I can learn from those I mentor.”

Mentoring for the first time this year are Phil Watton, CEO of TFI Lodestar, Erica Pew, Senior Event Producer at Bloomberg in their Media team and Rosie George, Account Director at NexGen Healthcare Communications.

Phil says, “I’m delighted to support the Realise Award programme, it’s an exciting initiative that will help to give young professionals a real insight into the corporate events world and build relationships that will hopefully allow them to pursue a successful and fulfilling in our fantastic industry.”

 

Erica continues, “I’m looking forward to joining the panel in judging and then mentoring the winner of EVCOM’s Realise Award this year. It’s a great opportunity for our younger cohort to get some onsite experience, network with a raft of talented event profs and get advice as they take their first steps within the events industry.”

 

Rosie finishes, “I’m thrilled to be invited to be a mentor for the Realise Award programme, supporting young professionals progress in their careers in event management. The programme is a great way for the mentees to build professional networks within different areas of event management and I very much look forward to supporting them in all ways possible as they develop their careers in this area.”

Find out more about our mentors here.

The Realise Award 2021

Congratulations to the shortlisted candidates and winners of The Realise Award 2021. We are really excited to work with you and our mentors to support your development and progression in the events industry.

The shortlisted candidates were:

Ella Corbin

Fatimah Sagir

Georgina Kay-Black

Naomi Hollas

Sasha Hollie Green

Sophie Tickle

Read more about the shortlist here. And the winner is:

Sasha Hollie Green

For our inaugural year, we were delighted to be welcoming mentors from Pure Comms Group, Broadsword Events Group, FIRST Agency and BCD Meetings & Events. We couldn’t do this without you! We will be announcing our 2022 mentors later in the year.

Hear from our 2021 mentors below:

Helen McCabe, MD at BCD M&E, says, “The new EVCOM Realise Award has come at a pertinent time for BCD M&E as the development and mentoring of the next generation of event professionals is something that is definitely high on our agenda going forward,” said Helen McCabe, MD of BCD M&E in the UK. “By offering mentoring opportunities within our M&E division, we will be able to give the winning mentee the widest possible exposure to so many different facets of the event industry. From our full-service creative experience team, The Collective, to specific service offering such as concept creation, creative design, film, production and event logistics, they will get to learn from an incredible wealth of experience and talent at BCD. We are very excited to be a part of EVCOM’s initiative to identify and raise new talent that will reinvigorate our sector, especially after the challenges of the past 18 months.”

Anna Green, Managing Director at Broadsword Event House, says, “I’ve had a lot of guidance and coaching throughout my career, which has been invaluable for the success of my business and for my own professional development. Being with people who empower you to be your authentic self is so important. Caring for Broadsword’s people is my mission and bringing out the best in each and every person is rooted in our success, creating a healthy, open and caring environment where a diverse group can thrive. I would love the opportunity to extend the support I offer further afield.”

Charlotte Gentry, Founder and CEO at Pure Communications Group, continues, “I have always had a mentor and as an entrepreneur and business owner with no partners, it has been essential for me to have someone I respect by my side sense checking my decisions. I have since spent time mentoring others and hope to bring confidence, knowledge and empowerment to my team.”

Jon Reid, Managing Director, FIRST finishes, “I’m very excited to be supporting The Realise Award and honoured to help mentor and the next generation of talent.”

Find out more about the 2021 mentors here: https://www.evcom.org.uk/news/the-realise-award-introducing-our-mentors