For the fifth year in a row, EFFEA will support emerging artists in finding their place on festival stages, providing financial support for collaborations to grow across Europe and beyond in 2027.
A total of 160 applications were received under Call #5, featuring 420 individual artists and 516 festivals (in total)/440 single festivals from 43 countries and 16 different artistic disciplines. This is the highest number of festivals involved in an EFFEA Call so far, surpassing previous years. It shows the growing diversity of emerging artists looking to bring their work to international stages, as well as the increasing number of festivals willing to support them and work with colleagues across borders to create new artistic encounters for their audiences.
Italy leads in the number of applications received (59), followed by France (37), Germany (29), Spain (28) and Greece (27). Festivals from new countries and territories, such as Gibraltar, participated for the first time. There has been a significant increase in applications from countries such as: The Netherlands (26), Belgium (23), Hungary (20), Slovenia (19), Serbia (18), Bulgaria and the UK (16 each), Lithuania and Poland (15 each), Romania and Sweden (13 each), and Austria (12).
In terms of artistic disciplines, this year's applicants were asked to identify one main discipline for their residency, rather than the three main disciplines requested in previous calls. This means that the applications provide a more focused picture of the artistic fields represented, with less overlap between disciplines. In total, 16 different artistic disciplines were represented. Music (71), Theatre (26) and Dance (23) were the most frequently selected, followed by Circus (7), Digital Arts (6), Visual Arts (6), and Street Arts, Film and Literature (4 each).
The EFFEA Call #5 was announced in June 2026, with applications open for approximately three months, from 1 September to 3 November 2026. During this period, emerging artists and festival makers were encouraged to develop new ideas and build collaborations across borders. To support them along the way, the European Festivals Association - EFA, together with the EFFEA Platform Members and Creative Europe Desks, organised 13 sessions online and in person. These included information sessions, networking meetings and Q&As, giving applicants the chance to learn more about the Call, ask questions and connect with artists and festivals looking for international partners.
Apart from these sessions, EFFEA's digital platforms and communication channels also played an important role in promoting the Call and encouraging new collaborations. FestivalFinder.eu offered artists and festival makers a practical way to find potential partners across Europe. Through filters such as country, artistic discipline, theme and festival dates, they could explore festivals that matched their interests and get in touch with them directly. During the EFFEA Call #5 period, 631 festivals registered on FestivalFinder.eu, further expanding the pool of potential partners and collaborators.
In addition, the EFFEA Facebook Community served as a more informal space to start conversations. Festivals and artists joined the group and shared their work, asked questions and connected with each other. Today, this Facebook community has over 1,600 members.
The EFFEA Jury will now begin reviewing all applications. The results will be communicated to applicants in December 2026 and then shared on the EFFEA website and social media channels.
Connect with us
EFFEA website
EFFEA Facebook
EFFEA Facebook Community
Send us an email: info@european-festivals.eu
Our Partners
The European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists is an initiative of the European Festivals Association co-funded by the European Union.
EFFEA Platform Members
Croatian Composers Society (Croatia), Culture Matters (Czechia), PLMF Arts Management (Estonia), France Festivals (France), Stichting Caucasus Foundation (Georgia), German Centre - International Theatre Institute (Germany), Summa Artium Kultúra Támogató (Hungary), Association of Irish Festival Events (Ireland), ItaliaFestival (Italy), Kosovar Center for New Music (Kosovo), ARC Research and Consultancy (Malta), Asociația Centrul Cultural Clujean (Romania), ArtLink (Serbia), Sweden Festivals (Sweden), Development Centre "Democracy through Culture" (Ukraine).
Associated Partners
Culture Action Europe, European Music Council, Pearle* Live Performance Europe, Circostrada, IETM, On the Move, European Dance Development Network, Művészetek Völgye.