The BEA Awards celebrate our industry, and Spanish agencies win big, with Experientia on top

20 years recognizing excellence. The 2025 Live Communication Week, a week dedicated to the international live communication community, took place in Rome, in the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, with around 2,000 delegates from 40 countries. It included the BEA awards, the most important event awards in Europe, which reached its 20^th edition this year, and reached 470 entries from 40 countries. A consolidated and distinctive format, structured in three key moments – the juries with the live presentations of the shortlisted projects, the day dedicated to content, and the awards ceremony.

It was a very good verdict for Spain. Very high on top was Experientia, with 10 awards (several shared with Sr Goldwind and one with Dakari); 2 for Somos Experiences, 2 for Acciona Living and Culture, 1 for Mediapro, 1 for Lighthouse, 1 for La5e. And the agency of the year was, logically, Experientia. Italy was the most prized nation with 27 awards, while surprisingly, other large European countries were not very present, with 8 awards in total for France, 4 for Germany, 1 from the UK.

The winner of Gold Grand Prix was the Norwegian event “The Breathing Space by Gjensidige” by NOSLEEPTILLBROOKLYN for the client Gjensidige. The Silver and Bronze Grand Prix went to the French event “Vacances De Ouf – Journée des Oubliés des Vacances 2025 – 80 ans du Secours populaire français” by Auditoire for Secours Populaire Français, and to the Brazilian “Letters From Simone” by Atenas.ag for the client Itaú. The Grand Prix Iconic Award was assigned to the Italian agencies Mosaico Studio and Fondazione Fratelli Tutti for the event “World Meeting on Human Fraternity”. Winner of the Press Award was “Strings Of The Soul” by the Latvian agency Luka.

Satisfaction on the state of our industry. Leading the 2025 jury, its president Gonçalo Oliveira from Deloitte, shared his reflections on this year’s edition and the situation of our industry. He highlights the central role of technological innovation: “AI is without doubt the leading trend in the sector. We are experiencing a true turning point. We saw projects that enhance the participant experience in innovative ways. And we are only at the beginning.”

“Live! With Respect” was the claim of the event and a key topic of the days dedicated to content and training, with a dense program of talks and roundtables involving key players in international Live Communication.

Research about our industry, by 27Names. The event also provided the opportunity to present the research the European Experience Index™ (EEX) by 27Names (association of live experience European agencies). Among the data emerging from the research:

• AI: powerful but not magical. 79% of agencies consider AI a dominant trend and 97% already use it in creative workflows, but many clients expect immediate miracles. AI can accelerate creativity but not replace it.
• ROI: missing metrics. Nearly half of clients are not able to effectively measure ROI and many do not have clear KPIs.
• Talent: the critical point. 1 in 2 agencies states that finding and maintaining qualified people is the biggest challenge.
• Partnership: creativity vs caution. Clients ask for bold ideas but often choose reliability; trust is the new currency.
• Sustainability: the investment gap. Expectations are increasing, but there is still a gap of around 30 points between those who demand sustainability and those who fund it.

A successful edition, without a doubt. Salvatore Sagone, President of ADC Group and promoter of the event, showed his satisfaction for “20 years of transformations: digital innovation, sustainability, AI, immersive experiences. At every stage, BEA World has interpreted the present and anticipated the future. But what continues to define this award is the humanity that drives it”. “The data presented and the high quality of the awarded projects confirm once again how the live communication industry represents a strategic sector, capable of generating great economic value and a hub of professional excellence at a global level” say the organisers. Indeed, this is an industry in great shape.

The next edition will take place in Venice.