003550 - Flagship Festival 2027
The procurement contact named on the official notice.
The documents must be downloaded from www.open-uk.org using the reference 20261993. These will be available from 9th September 2026. Any questions must be raised though this Open system for a response
The submission route named on the official notice.
This is a large award for Business Services — above three-quarters of comparable contracts. Based on 57,319 valued Business Services tenders in our corpus.
Durham County Council publishes Business Services work continuously — 294 notices, roughly one every 6 days. This is a stream to watch, not a cycle to wait for.
45% of Durham County Council’s awards go to a supplier it has used before.
Which is the argument for getting on the list rather than winning this one. The incumbent is rarely the last winner — it is the roster. See the retention odds by category →
Durham County Council is seeking an experienced and innovative delivery partner to develop and deliver a new flagship cultural event for County Durham.
The Council is looking for a bold, ambitious and distinctive proposition that represents a step change from traditional festival models and has the potential to become a recurring, nationally recognised event.
The successful proposal should be original, participatory and rooted in County Durham's unique identity, bringing together culture, creativity, innovation, technology and community engagement.
The event should create a defining cultural moment for the county, enhancing its reputation as a place of creativity and excellence, while delivering lasting cultural, social and economic benefits.
Proposals must demonstrate strong opportunities for participation, skills development and talent progression, particularly for children and young people, ensuring local communities play an active role in shaping and delivering the event.
What the notice asks for
The successful proposal should be original, participatory
The successful proposal should be original, participatory and rooted in County Durham's unique identity, bringing together culture, creativity, innovation, technology and community engagement.
The event should create a defining cultural
The event should create a defining cultural moment for the county, enhancing its reputation as a place of creativity and excellence, while delivering lasting cultural, social and economic benefits.
Proposals must demonstrate strong opportunities for participation
Proposals must demonstrate strong opportunities for participation, skills development and talent progression, particularly for children and young people, ensuring local communities play an active role in shaping and delivering the event.
Sentences from the notice that state an obligation, surfaced automatically and shown in the order they appear. Not an exhaustive list — always confirm against the tender documents.
What it takes to bid this
Typical UK bid effort for the £1m–£10m band — an estimate, not a quote.
Qualify & bid/no-bid ~10% · SQ / PQQ ~20% · Written response ~55% · Review & presentation ~15%
Typical for this category — confirm against the ITT pack
- Hold at bidProfessional indemnity insurance
- Show at bidNamed engagement team with CVs
- Show at bidComparable references / case studies
- Hold at bidFinancial standing (accounts, often ~2× contract value turnover)
- Hold at bidInsurance cover (PL / EL, often PI)
- Show at bidSocial value commitments
Hold at bid = pass/fail conditions of participation. Show at bid = scored in the quality response. Plan for delivery = contract obligations from day one.
Make the case to bid
Reveal who to approach at Durham County Council, and generate a go-to-market strategy from their news, accounts and people.
Free to start. Named contacts come from published notices; the strategy is generated from the buyer’s news, accounts and people.
The full intelligence dossier
Our agent reads Durham County Council’s accounts, hunts live signals, finds the people who decide — and hands you a bid strategy plus a go-to-market influence plan, including what your team should post this week. You approve every paid step.
Five included while we’re in beta, and the agent asks before it spends on any paid step.
- OCID
- ocds-h6vhtk-06f5ce
- Stage
- tender · Open
- Source
- Find a Tender
- Buyer ref
- 085456-2026
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source data © Crown copyright.
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