Every year, for the past 14 editions of the European Design Awards we have been very eager to welcome the creative community to an exciting series of events that constitute the annual European Design Festival. It’s a time that we get to see many friends in person and get to know new ones. People whom we admire and people who inspire us.
This time however we are sad to confirm that there is not going to be an ED-Festival. The reason is of course very obvious and it has to do with the outbreak of COVID-19. Europe is having a hard time, and in particular Spain, our host for 2020 is paying a heavy toll. It is a decision that does not make us happy, but we strongly believe that it is of the utmost importance to put the health of our guests, staff and community above everything else.
At this point, we need to acknowledge the amazing work the people of ADCV (Art Directors’ Club of Valencia) have done to create content that would have been both fun and inspirational. This work, will not go wasted. It has been decided that Valencia will host next year’s event: the European Design Festival 2021. By then we hope that everything will look much, much brighter!
At this point, we want to stress that apart from the Award Ceremony and the European Design Festival everything else will follow the initial schedule. The juries have already started the task of evaluating all submissions and new virtual processes have been established in the cases where they are needed. You can rest assured that all work is being judged according to the high standards you have always associated with the European Design Awards.
According to our schedule, the notification of finalists will commence on April 6th and everyone will have been contacted by April 13th at the latest.
This means that we will soon be in touch again. Until then, we urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials.
Be vigilant, be optimistic, be creative and most of all, take care!
Demetrios Fakinos
Managing Director
European Design Awards