First-ever Major Events Grant for Event Organisers Targeted at Foreign Tourists

The new application round for major international events by Enterprise Estonia offers 3 million euros to ensure that future festivals and sporting events bring millions of contacts and overnight stays to Estonian tourism. Applications will be accepted from 3 September to 10 October 2025.

On 3 September 2025, the Estonian Enterprise and Innovation Foundation (EIF) opened an application round for international cultural and sporting events. Applications are expected until 10 October 2025. The total amount of the round is 3 million euros, which is a three-year grant.

Grants can be submitted for projects that take place for at least three consecutive years. The minimum amount of the grant over three years is 140,000 euros, and the maximum is 235,000 euros. Self-financing must be at least 30% of the total project cost.

The requirements for the funding round are clear: the event must last at least three consecutive days, have a unified program, and bring together at least 2,000 foreign visitors in Tallinn or at least 1,000 foreign visitors outside Tallinn within three years.

When evaluating applications, the EIS pays attention to how the event helps balance the seasonality of tourism and supports accommodation facilities during the low season. Regionality is also assessed: the goal is that events outside Tallinn also receive support.

The EIS estimates that the supported events will bring about 74,000 more foreign visitors to stay overnight in Estonian accommodation establishments. The estimated economic revenue from the round is 12.5 million euros, with approximately 3.6 million euros in tax revenue.

The EIS emphasizes that the project must be thoroughly prepared before submitting an application — a marketing and media plan, budget, schedule, risk analysis, and a description of the event program must be ready.

Opening the application round, Kristiina Pääsuke, Head of the EIS Grants Department, said: “Organising major international events helps to make Estonia more visible in the world and gives a boost to local businesses, especially the accommodation and catering sector. The support measure is aimed at events that have a real potential to bring many foreign visitors to Estonia, who will also stay here.”

EIS Tourism Manager Anneli Lepp added: “Hosting events is a unique opportunity to position yourself as a distinctive destination and increase the interest of foreign visitors who have arrived for a top event in the country as a travel destination more broadly. Our goal is to increase the duration of foreign visitors’ stay in Estonia by supporting events and thereby increase export revenue. Thanks to events, the number of repeat visits also increases and people come to Estonia for other seasons and reasons.”

In addition, Lepp emphasized that the aim of the support is to provide longer-term security for events: “One-off support for events, as in previous years, is no longer possible planned. By supporting regular events with a larger budget than before, we can give more events a longer-term sense of security and increase the international recognition and scale of strong events.”

Ensuring regional balance is also in focus. “Various cultural and sports events are a very strong motivator to attract foreign visitors to the far corners of Estonia,” Lepp noted, adding that careful monitoring will be carried out to ensure that the round does not become too Tallinn-centric.

This support creates a strong framework for organizers who want Estonia to see major international events not as isolated events, but as lasting projects with recognition and economic impact.