#TBA26: Winners unveiled at TheTicketingBusiness Awards 2026

The global ticketing industry gathered in force in Manchester tonight to celebrate the winners at the 10th edition of TheTicketingBusiness Awards.

Highlighting a night of immense talent, Fever was officially crowned TheTicketingBusiness of the Year, while the prestigious Outstanding Achievement Award was presented to Rita Namora, Head of Ticketing, UEFA, in recognition of her 20-year, career-defining contribution to the sector.

The ceremony, held during the annual TheTicketingBusiness Forum, brought together a capacity audience of senior industry figures. Among the night’s individual highlights, Dale Ballentine, Chief Operating Officer (Major Events), Eventim, took home the Executive of the Year Award, while the title of Campaign of the Year was secured by Women’s EURO 2025 (UEFA).

Celebrating Innovation and Achievement

The 2026 winners’ circle reflected the rapid evolution of the live entertainment landscape. In the realm of transformation and influence, Ballots 2.0 (SeatGeek) received the Impact Award, while the Disruptor Award was handed to DynamO Pricing for challenging industry norms.

The focus on the fan remained central to the evening, with Ligabue Live 2025 – Wearable Ticket Experience (SKIDATA/HID) scooping the Guest Experience Award and Immersive Digital Ticket (UpApp/Arts Theatre) taking home the Product Innovation Award.

Technical excellence was also highlighted as Tackling No-Shows (RB Leipzig/Red Bull Data Science/WHU) was recognized for Insights & Analytics, while the crucial work happening behind the scenes saw Jimmy Beacham, Capital Theatres named Unsung Hero and Leon Gray, Head of Ticketing & Audience Experience, Edinburgh International Festival join the ranks of the Movers & Shakers.

“This is an incredible honour and I’m grateful to all of our partners who have put their trust in Fever,” said Sana Ali Aamir, Fever’s Regional General Manager/Managing Director – Northern Europe.

A Decade of Industry Recognition

Founded in 2016, TheTicketingBusiness Awards remain the only global program dedicated to recognising the full spectrum of achievements across entertainment  ticketing’s ecosystem. This year’s winners were determined by a 24-strong, international expert judging panel – who collectively navigated one of the most competitive shortlists in the Awards’ decade-long history.

“Congratulations to everyone who reached the podium,” commented Ian Nuttall, Co-Founder of TheTicketingBusiness. “The 2026 winners represent our industry’s most resilient leaders and stand-out innovators. They should all be very proud of their achievements in setting new benchmarks for the next generation of live entertainment.”

Donations for Nominations

Once again TheTicketingBusiness Awards also focussed on ‘giving back’ with fundraising support for its charity partner EMERGENCY. Through its ‘Donations for Nominations’ campaign £5 (€6/US$6.50) was donated for every fully-completed entry to further support its vital work in conflict zones.

Attendees also ‘tapped to donate’ on the night – with TheTicketingBusiness matching all donations to double the sums raised – to beat the £4,000 raised at the 2025 edition.

And now… here’s the full list of our 2026 finalists and winners:

CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR AWARD

Category winner: Women’s EURO 2025 (UEFA)

Shortlisted nominees:

• Minecraft Experience Villager Rescue (FKP Skorpio Entertainment/Fever)
• The Immersive Window (Futuroscope/Digital Landmarks)
• Visit Our Gardens / bioblitz (Natural History Museum)
• Who knew? (Seat Unique)
• Women’s EURO 2025 (UEFA)
• World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 (World Athletics/LOC/JAAF/PIA/Two Circles)

UNSUNG HERO AWARD

Category winner: Jimmy Beacham, Capital Theatres

Shortlisted nominees:

• Jimmy Beacham, Head of Ticketing and Revenue, Capital Theatres
• Roger Krebs, Head of IT Ticketing, Stage Entertainment
• Jorge Reis, CEO, Eventim Brasil
• Michelle Sims, Ticketing Coordinator, Starvoxf Entertainment/Lighthouse Immersive Studios
• Deborah Stedt, Ticketing Services Supervisor, San Diego Theaters
• Dee Traynor, Ticketing Systems Specialist, ATG Entertainment
• Cathie Ward, Event Ticketing Manager, The O2

MOVERS & SHAKERS AWARD

Category winner: Leon Gray, Head of Ticketing & Audience Experience, Edinburgh International Festival

Shortlisted nominees:

• Nathan Birch, International Head of Ticketing (UK & Europe), FKP Skorpio Entertainment
• Leon Gray, Head of Ticketing and Audience Experience, Edinburgh International Festival 2025
• Lisa Holland, Senior Lead – International Business, Eventim Inhouse
• Oskar Muller, Director of Pricing & Ticketing, Wasserman Music
• Iñaki Sanchez Lopez, Co-Founder & CEO, menta tech
• Tristan Skelley, Campaign Coordinator, FEAT (Face-Value European Alliance for Ticketing)

IMPACT AWARD

Category winner: Ballots 2.0 (SeatGeek)

Shortlisted nominees:

• Access control at Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis Colts/Alvarado/dormakaba)
• Ballots 2.0 (SeatGeek)
• Driving Fan Insights (Silverstone Circuits/FEP Pay)
• MLB’s Unified Digital Ticketing Experience (tickets.com/3D Digital Venue)
• Publics XP audience engagement (Babel Music XP/Bill-A)
• The Traitors Live (Immersive Everywhere/Line-Up)

DISRUPTOR AWARD

Category winner: DynamO Pricing

Shortlisted nominees:

• DynamO Pricing
• GoodCRM
• INTIX
• menta tech
• OpenStage
• Stager

GUEST EXPERIENCE AWARD

Category winner: Ligabue Live 2025 – The Wearable Ticket Experience (SKIDATA/HID)

Shortlisted nominees:

• Accessibility Presale for Australian Open (Tennis Australia/Ticketmaster)
• IMS Ticket Sales & Service Team (Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
• Ligabue Live 2025 – The Wearable Ticket Experience (SKIDATA/HID)
• Guest-First Booking Journey (Kaboodle/Weezevent)
• Netcall Implementation at The O2 (AEG/Netcall/Nimbus Disability)
• Gaia Guest Identification (Neoma)

PRODUCT INNOVATION AWARD

Category winner: Immersive Digital Ticket (UpApp/Arts Theatre)

Shortlisted nominees:

• Digital ID-Linked Ticketing Ecosystem (Zippertic)
• Hype Event Protection (Akamai/Queue-it)
• Immersive Digital Ticket (UpApp/Arts Theatre)
• Integrated Secondary Ticketing (Tymes4)
• Mobilise by SeatGeek
• Mystery Seat (RB Leipzig)
• White Label AI Customer Care (SquadUP)

INSIGHTS & ANALYTICS AWARD

Category winner: Tackling No-Shows (RB Leipzig/Red Bull Data Science/WHU)

Shortlisted nominees:

• Demand-based pricing Edinburgh International Festival 2025 (EiF/DynamO)
• League-wide Data Insights (Swiss Football League/Arenametrix)
• Orchestrated Payments & Insights Platform (FEP Pay)
• Reshaping Perceptions (Motorpoint Arena/Ticketek/Genome)
• Scan & Betal data platform (AGF Aarhus A/S)
• Tackling No-Shows (RB Leipzig/Red Bull Data Science/WHU)

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD

Category winner: Dale Ballentine, Chief Operating Officer (Major Events), Eventim

Shortlisted nominees:

• Sana Ali Aamir, Managing Director – Europe, Fever
• Dale Ballentine, Chief Operating Officer (Major Events), Eventim
• Michael Christidis, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Untitled Group
• Niclas Lindeberg, CEO, Tickster
• Berislav ‘Bero’ Marszalek, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Entrio
• Hans Schafer, SVP of Global Touring, Live Nation
• Silvano Taiani, CEO, Vivaticket SpA

THE TICKETING BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD

Category winner: Fever

Shortlisted nominees:

• Bandsintown
• Fever
• nuweb
• PLG group
• Skiddle
• Stage Entertainment
• Untitled Group

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Category winner: Rita Namora, Head of Ticketing, UEFA

#TBA26 JUDGING PANEL

Hundreds of nominations were whittled down to create the shortlist, judged by an independent panel of industry figures including:

• Shah-Zeib Ahmed, Director, Glosancon – Sports
• Martin Austin MBE, Managing Director, Nimbus Disability
• Georgia Bekyra, Event & Ticketing Consultant
• Victoria Born, Ticketing Project Manager, FIFA
• Charles Bruner, Commercial Director, Motorsport Events [Motorsport Network]
• Tim Chambers, Managing Director, TJChambers Consultancy
• Lou Champion, Director of Ticketing, The O2
• Mark Davyd, Founder & CEO, Music Venue Trust
• Vishal Dayal, Venue Systems Manager, Arsenal Football Club
• Gabriela Gandolfini, Director of Customer Strategy and Retail, House of Commons
• Su Jella, Executive and Advisor, Nano Insights
• Will Kerr, Ticketing & Membership Manager, Warwickshire CCC / Edgbaston Stadium
• Joseph Lee, Partner & General Manager, AnTank Group
• Jason Mastrine, Global Head of Ticketing Strategy, Protect Group
• Eleonora Mihova, CEO, Ticket Station Bulgaria
• Cat Nunes, Ticketing and Insight Manager, The Postal Museum
• Ian Nuttall, Founder, Xperiology
• Yazed Osman, Group Head, Events & Placemaking / Place Management, The Kallang Group (Formerly Kallang Alive Sport Management Co Pte. Ltd.)
• Steve Rimmer, Founder & CEO, Tickets for Good
• Nigel Shipley, Head of Commercial Performance, ODEON Cinemas
• Alistair Spiers, Head of Commercial, Blackpool FC
• Edwin Suk, Group IT Director, Stage Entertainment NL
• Matthew Thorley, Visitor Attractions Sales and Planning Manager, Tottenham Hotspur FC
• Linda Turner, Head of Ticketing, Legends Global (APAC)

Congratulations to all the recipients—your official 2026 Winners’ press kits and logos are currently being distributed.

Stay tuned to TheTicketingBusiness.com in the coming weeks, where we will be sharing exclusive insights, interviews, and deep dives into the success stories of this year’s award winners.

As we look ahead, we celebrate the continued growth of the global ticketing ecosystem and the remarkable new venues and innovations shaping the industry in 2026.

View and download high-resolution photos from the ceremony on  TheTicketingBusiness Flickr feed here.