Perform Europe 2026–2028: Up to €60,000 for Cross-Border Performing-Arts Partnerships
Perform Europe supports partnerships of performing-arts professionals and organisations in Creative Europe countries with grants of up to €60,000 for fairer, greener and more inclusive cross-border touring.
Perform Europe 2026–2028: Up to €60,000 for Cross-Border Performing-Arts Partnerships
Perform Europe is an open European funding opportunity for performing-arts partnerships that want to make cross-border touring fairer, greener and more inclusive. The 2026–2028 call is organised through the Creative Europe framework and offers €1.4 million to at least 25 partnerships. A selected partnership can request a €15,000 small grant, a €25,000 medium grant or a €55,000 large grant, with sustainability and accessibility top-ups of up to €5,000. The maximum total grant is €60,000 per partnership.
The call is not a general fund for developing a new show from scratch. Each proposal must include at least one finished performing-arts work, or an artistic concept that is ready to be applied and presented in different contexts. The work must be presented in at least three Creative Europe countries. Perform Europe also states that new-creation production costs are outside the scope of this call.
The deadline is 22 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST. The call launched on 23 June 2026, selected partnerships are expected to be announced in January 2027, and touring is scheduled to run from 1 March 2027 through 31 January 2028. That timetable makes this a practical fit for organisations and professionals that already have a work, trusted partners and a credible route to several countries.
Key details
| Detail | Confirmed information |
|---|---|
| Opportunity | Perform Europe open call 2026–2028 |
| Funder and programme context | European Union through the Creative Europe framework |
| Application deadline | 22 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST |
| Total call budget | €1.4 million for at least 25 partnerships |
| Grant options | €15,000, €25,000 or €55,000, plus eligible top-ups |
| Maximum total award | €60,000 per partnership |
| Partnership minimum | Three partners from at least three Creative Europe countries |
| Geographic requirement | The work must be presented in at least three Creative Europe countries |
| Main priorities | Inclusion and diversity; fight against climate change |
| Touring period | 1 March 2027 to 31 January 2028 |
| Application route | Register and apply through the Perform Europe website |
| Official source | European Commission Perform Europe call page |
The European Commission page is the authoritative source for the deadline, amount, partnership structure and timeline. The application platform may provide additional form instructions, fields and technical requirements. Applicants should use the current portal instructions when they prepare the final submission.
What Perform Europe funds
Perform Europe is designed around the circulation of performing arts across borders. Its stated aim is to explore how touring can become fairer, greener and more inclusive. The call asks applicants to choose one of two main priorities for their proposal: inclusion and diversity, or climate change. Every proposal must still consider and implement measures related to the other priority.
This structure rewards a proposal with a clear centre of gravity. A partnership should be able to say whether its strongest contribution is, for example, widening access and representation or reducing the environmental burden of touring. It should then show how the second priority is treated in the actual touring model. A climate-focused proposal that ignores accessibility would not reflect the full call, and an inclusion-focused proposal that makes no serious effort to address touring emissions would be incomplete.
The programme also expects quality, innovation and fair practices. Those terms should be connected to the proposed work rather than left as slogans. Explain what the partnership will do differently, which audiences or places it will reach, how responsibilities will be shared, and why the approach can work across several countries. A strong application will treat the artistic work and the touring method as one proposition: the work has value, and the way it moves between communities also creates value.
Perform Europe will not cover production costs for new creations. The proposal should therefore begin with an existing work or an artistic concept that is already sufficiently developed to be presented in different contexts. If the work needs final adaptation for each venue, describe that adaptation carefully and distinguish it from creating an entirely new production. The call is about partnership, presentation and cross-border circulation, not an open-ended development budget.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants are organisations and professionals working in the performing arts and legally based in one of the Creative Europe countries. The European Commission describes the participating geography as the 27 European Union member states plus 14 non-EU participating countries. Applicants should verify that every proposed partner is legally based in an eligible country before committing to the partnership structure.
The application is partnership-based. Each partnership must include at least three partners from at least three Creative Europe countries. The partners should be able to demonstrate a real working relationship around the proposal, not simply provide names for a geographic checklist. The roles might include an artistic company, presenting venues, festivals, producers, community organisations or other performing-arts professionals, but the exact composition should follow the work and the touring plan.
At least one performing-arts work must be presented in at least three different Creative Europe countries. The official call excludes live music and opera from this requirement. That means a proposal centred on a theatre, dance, circus, interdisciplinary or other eligible performing-arts work should check how the work is classified before applying. If the project includes music as one element of a wider performance, do not assume that the exclusion is irrelevant; use the application guidance or contact the programme for a definitive interpretation.
The country requirement is not just a travel itinerary. A partnership should explain why the work belongs in each proposed context, how local partners will contribute, and what audiences will gain. A tour that simply repeats the same event everywhere may be less convincing than a plan that shows responsible adaptation while preserving the work’s artistic identity.
Grant amounts and additional support
Perform Europe offers three base grant categories: €15,000, €25,000 and €55,000. Partnerships may also request top-ups for sustainability and accessibility needs. The total of those top-ups can be as high as €5,000 per proposal, and the overall maximum grant is €60,000.
The three categories are useful planning signals, but they are not three quality levels. Select the category that matches the work, countries, number of partners, travel pattern, access measures and delivery period. A small partnership with a tightly defined route should not inflate its budget simply because the large grant exists. Conversely, a three-country project with translation, access, local engagement and substantial coordination should not understate the resources required merely to appear modest.
The Commission has reserved 5% of the total funding for proposals that involve Ukrainian partners or support initiatives for the Ukrainian performing-arts sector. That is an allocation priority, not a separate automatic award. A proposal should explain the actual Ukrainian connection and the work it enables rather than adding a partner or activity only to pursue the reserved share.
Accessibility and sustainability costs should be specific. Examples might include access services, appropriate audience support, lower-impact travel arrangements or changes to the way materials and people move. These examples are planning guidance, not a promise that every listed expense will be eligible. The final application rules and platform fields control what may be requested.
Partnership and project fit
Before drafting, map the proposed partnership in a one-page table. List every partner, country, legal status, role, contribution, venue or audience connection, and the part of the route that partner can deliver. Then identify the three countries in which the work will be presented. This simple exercise can expose a weak application early: a partner may be interested but not legally eligible, a country may appear in the network but not in the actual presentation plan, or one organisation may be carrying nearly all operational responsibility.
The programme’s matchmaking platform can help applicants find collaborators. The Commission says the platform connects more than 2,300 performing-arts organisations and professionals from 41 countries. Use it to identify a missing capability or country connection, but do not treat a platform match as a finished partnership. A good collaborator needs time to review the work, agree responsibilities, understand the budget and participate in the proposal before submission.
The work itself should be ready for international presentation. Prepare a concise description of its artistic form, duration, technical requirements, touring history or readiness, audience relationship and adaptation needs. If the concept is not yet a finished production, explain precisely what is already developed and why it can be applied in three countries without turning the grant into a new-creation budget.
How to prepare the application
Start with the official call page and then register through the Perform Europe application website. The Commission page confirms the online route but does not publish a complete list of every form field or attachment in the text available here. Do not invent a document checklist from another Creative Europe call. Instead, open the current application form early and record each required response, upload and partner confirmation.
A practical preparation sequence is:
- Confirm that the lead and every partner are legally based in eligible Creative Europe countries.
- Confirm that the partnership has at least three partners from at least three countries.
- Select the work and verify that it is not being presented as a new creation whose production costs need funding.
- Build a route showing presentation in at least three Creative Europe countries.
- Choose inclusion and diversity or climate change as the main priority, then add concrete measures for the other priority.
- Agree the grant category and build a costed budget around actual activity.
- Gather partner descriptions, responsibilities, dates, audience information and any evidence of readiness that the form requests.
- Submit early enough for every partner to review the final version and for the lead applicant to resolve portal problems.
The application should make the partnership visible. Explain who decides what, how money and responsibilities are handled, how local knowledge affects the route, and what happens if one venue or country becomes unavailable. The goal is not to make the proposal sound risk-free. It is to show that the partnership has thought through delivery and has enough shared ownership to adapt responsibly.
Timeline and deadline planning
The call launched on 23 June 2026 and closes on 22 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST. Treat that as a hard portal deadline. “Before the end of the day” is not a safe internal plan, especially when partners are working across time zones and several people may need to review or confirm the submission.
The Commission lists January 2027 for announcement of selected partnerships. Selected proposals are scheduled to start touring on 1 March 2027 and finish touring on 31 January 2028. Use those dates to test the feasibility of the route: partners need enough time after selection to confirm venues, travel, access arrangements, communications and local audience work.
The official page does not promise that every successful partnership will receive its preferred dates or that every proposed country will be approved unchanged. Keep a realistic plan B for venue changes and explain how the core artistic and social purpose survives a reasonable adjustment. Because the call is competitive, a clear route with credible partners is more useful than a long list of possible destinations.
What makes a stronger proposal
The most persuasive proposal will connect four elements: an eligible work, a real partnership, a specific cross-border route and a measurable response to the call’s priorities. Avoid writing four separate mini-essays that never meet. Show how a partner’s local knowledge changes the presentation, how the chosen priority affects the touring method, and how the grant buys the activity needed to deliver that result.
For inclusion and diversity, describe whose participation or access will improve, what barriers the partnership has identified, and which actions will address those barriers. Do not rely only on broad audience language. Name the partner or practice responsible for access, representation, community connection or evaluation where the plan is already known.
For climate change, show how the touring model changes decisions about travel, freight, energy, materials or scheduling. A statement that the partnership is “green” is not a plan. The application should explain which choices will be made differently and how the partners can implement them across the route.
For both priorities, keep claims proportionate to the grant. The programme can support a meaningful partnership and route; it does not require an entire sector to be transformed in eighteen months. Define what the selected work and its partners can deliver between March 2027 and January 2028, and describe the learning that can continue after touring ends.
Common mistakes to avoid
The first mistake is applying with fewer than three partners or with partners from fewer than three eligible countries. Check the legal and geographic requirement, not merely the number of people involved.
The second is treating the call as production funding. If the artistic work is not ready to present, explain what is ready and ask the programme whether the proposal fits. Do not hide a new-creation budget inside a touring description.
The third is naming three countries without a genuine presentation plan. The call requires the work to be presented in at least three Creative Europe countries, so list the actual partner, place and delivery role connected to each country.
The fourth is selecting both priorities in name only. Choose a main priority and budget for the measures that make it real. Then show how the second priority is addressed rather than repeating the same generic paragraph.
The fifth is choosing the €55,000 grant category without a defensible budget. The ceiling is not a target. A smaller, coherent request can be stronger than a maximum request with unexplained travel, production or coordination costs.
The sixth is leaving partner conversations until the final week. The application is a partnership proposition. Allow time to agree roles, confirm availability, check country eligibility and review the route together.
Frequently asked questions
Is Perform Europe open now?
Yes. The European Commission lists the 2026–2028 open call as open. Applications must be submitted by 22 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST.
How much can one partnership receive?
The available base categories are €15,000, €25,000 and €55,000. Sustainability and accessibility top-ups can add up to €5,000, but the maximum total grant is €60,000 per partnership.
Can an individual artist apply alone?
The call is submitted by partnerships. The eligible applicant pool includes organisations and professionals working in the performing arts, but each proposal must have at least three partners from at least three Creative Europe countries.
Does the grant pay for a brand-new performance?
No. The official call says Perform Europe will not cover production costs for new creations. The proposal should include a finished work or an artistic concept ready to be applied and presented in different contexts.
What kind of work must be presented?
At least one performing-arts work must be presented in at least three Creative Europe countries. The official requirements exclude live music and opera from this condition, so applicants with hybrid or interdisciplinary work should check the application guidance if classification is unclear.
Is there a separate Ukraine grant?
The Commission says 5% of the total funding will be allocated to proposals involving Ukrainian partners or supporting initiatives for the Ukrainian performing-arts sector. This is a funding allocation within the call, not a separate guaranteed award.
Where do I apply?
Start with the European Commission Perform Europe call page, then use its “Register and apply” link to reach the Perform Europe application website. Review the live form for current submission requirements.
Official links and next steps
Read the official Perform Europe 2026–2028 call page for the confirmed deadline, grant categories, partnership rules, priorities and timetable. The page also links to the application route and the Perform Europe matchmaking platform.
The next useful action is to assemble the partnership map and test the route against the three-country presentation rule. If the work, partners and country plan fit, build the application offline, confirm the main priority, cost the activity honestly and submit well before 22 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST. If a question depends on a portal field or an unusual type of performing-arts work, use the current Perform Europe guidance or contact route rather than relying on an older Creative Europe call.