Festivals Investment Scheme Round 2

About this scheme

The Festivals Investment Scheme supports small-to-mid-scale arts festivals in Ireland to deliver high-quality arts programmes that are engaged with, and relevant to, local communities or communities of interest. Round 2 covers festivals taking place between 1 July and 31 December 2026. The scheme is structured across three funding bands, each designed for festivals at a different stage of development, and applicants select the band most suitable for their festival. Eligible applicant organisations (voluntary or professional) must operate an annual, biennial, or triennial festival programme, either multidisciplinary or within a single artform. Only one application per organisation is permitted per calendar year, in one band. Organisations already directly funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for festival programmes are ineligible, as are non-arts-related events and competitive events. Eligible costs include artists' fees, venue hire, staffing, marketing, and travel. Funding is offered on a once-off, non-recurring basis and awarded competitively.

Who can apply

• Applicant must be an organisation (voluntary or professional) operating an annual, biennial, or triennial festival programme; both multidisciplinary festivals and single-artform festivals are supported
• Festival programme must fall within the qualifying dates for Round 2 (1 July-31 December 2026); exceptions for festivals in this window applying to Round 1 instead require prior written approval from the Head of Festivals
• Organisation may make only one Festivals Investment Scheme application in a calendar year, in one funding band: Band A (awards up to €10,000), Band B (awards of €10,001-€25,000), or Band C (awards of €25,001-€45,000); awards offered in Bands B and C may sometimes be below the band's minimum due to the scheme's competitive and budgetary context
• Ineligible: organisations directly funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for festival programmes in 2026 (including through the Small-Scale Local Festivals and Summer Schools Scheme)
• Ineligible activities: non-arts-related events (e.g. heritage or crafts events, food fairs, stand-up comedy, gaming) and competitive events
• Funding is offered on a once-off, non-recurring basis; applicants previously funded should not assume continued funding

How to apply

1. 1Attend the Arts Council's online Festivals Investment Scheme information clinic (where offered) to understand the objectives, priorities, and application process
2. 2Download and read the current Round 2 guidelines in full (typically published around two weeks before the round opens)
3. 3Register for or log in to an Arts Council Online Services (OLS) account
4. 4Select the funding band (A, B, or C) most appropriate to your festival's scale and funding model
5. 5Complete the application form, including proposed festival programme, budget, and eligible activity costs (e.g. artists' fees, venue hire, staffing, marketing, technical/production, travel, and programme archiving)
6. 6Gather and prepare required supporting material
7. 7Submit the completed application through Online Services before the published deadline
8. 8Applications are scored against assessment criteria (expressed as a percentage); those scoring 60% or above are shortlisted for funding, which is distributed in score order within the available budget, and all applicants are informed in writing of the outcome