Recipients of funding are event organizers or persons verifiably appointed by them who plan and carry out events in Bavaria.

Eligible applicants are

• Legal entities under private and public law,
• partnerships with legal capacity,
• self-employed and freelance professionals.

In particular, the federal government, the states, and municipalities, as well as local authorities governed by public law, political parties, or comparable foreign organizations, are not eligible to apply.

Funding is available for conferences and conventions that are closed-door events aimed at a professional audience. This includes conferences and conventions held in conjunction with trade fairs, as well as those held in conjunction with (legally required) general meetings.

Funding is provided for events that meet the following requirements:

• No orders related to the event have yet been placed, no contracts signed, and no other obligations entered into; in particular, the event venue has not yet been booked on a binding basis.
• The event takes place in Bavaria. The organizer’s registered office is irrelevant for funding purposes.
• The event is taking place for the first time, or at least one of the three previous events did not take place in Bavaria; or, in the case of events that have only been held once or twice so far, at least one event did not take place in Bavaria. Events may be funded up to two times in five consecutive years.
• The event lasts at least two days, with at least four hours of substantive program content on each day. Breaks and program segments that serve primarily for entertainment purposes are not included in the substantive program.
• The event must have at least 100–300 on-site participants on each day of the event, depending on the venue. Hybrid events are eligible for funding; however, online participants are not counted when determining the total number of participants.
• The event venue may not be provided or rented by the applicant themselves or by an organizational unit legally affiliated with them (e.g., a subsidiary).

The amount of funding is staggered according to the number of participants attentding in person and the duration of the congress. The more participants and the longer the event, the higher the amount of funding.

The minimum funding amount is € 12,000 and the maximum basic funding amount is € 125,000.

Additional funding bonuses are also granted:

• + 30 % if at least 30% of the participants come from abroad
• + 20 % if the event takes place entirely in the congress low season (August or November to March)

Applications are submitted online via the Bayern Innovativ GmbH application portal. You can also upload all the necessary documents there. The application must be completed in German.