--- title: "Soft Market Engagement - Christmas Market" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-8e2dfed8-0f51-4dc1-b0a0-e063a19bd7ba" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-8e2dfed8-0f51-4dc1-b0a0-e063a19bd7ba" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8e2dfed8-0f51-4dc1-b0a0-e063a19bd7ba.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8e2dfed8-0f51-4dc1-b0a0-e063a19bd7ba.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "Sheffield City Council" published: "2026-10-05" --- # Soft Market Engagement - Christmas Market Buyer: Sheffield City Council Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-b5fd17-8e2dfed8-0f51-4dc1-b0a0-e063a19bd7ba [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-8e2dfed8-0f51-4dc1-b0a0-e063a19bd7ba) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8e2dfed8-0f51-4dc1-b0a0-e063a19bd7ba.json) ## Summary Sheffield City Council is seeking to hear from suppliers interested in providing a Christmas market. The potential requirement falls within event services and retail trade services, and would be delivered in Sheffield. The Council describes this as a soft market engagement: it wants to understand supplier interest and gather information about the market. This is an exploratory exercise rather than a request to deliver a defined package of event services. Suppliers involved in Christmas markets, event organisation or market trading may find the subject relevant, but the exercise itself is intended to inform the Council rather than procure a service. The buyer invited suppliers to respond through a soft market engagement, not a formal tender. The Council says the exercise will not lead to a contract award; it is gathering information and assessing the level of interest in the service. The stated response deadline was 16 October 2026 at 12:00. The recorded period for the potential activity runs from 17 to 18 October 2026. No procurement procedure, contract value, evaluation criteria, eligibility requirements or division into lots is set out. As this is market testing rather than a competition, suppliers should treat participation as an opportunity to inform the Council, not as a bid for a contract. This engagement is relevant to businesses that organise or operate Christmas markets, provide event services, or support market retail activity. It offers a route to communicate market interest and potentially help the Council understand what suppliers can offer before any formal procurement is considered. The published requirement does not set out specific technical capabilities, accreditations, experience thresholds, capacity requirements or participation conditions, so suppliers cannot assess a defined delivery specification from the stated terms. The Council also indicates that the exercise is not a contract opportunity and will not itself result in a contract. Businesses seeking an immediate paid commission or a competitive tender to deliver a market should therefore distinguish this exploratory engagement from a procurement to win. ## Notice Sheffield City Council is conducting a Soft Market Engagement activity to understand whether there are any suppliers of a Christmas Market interested in working with the Council. This soft market test exercise therefore does not constitute a formal tender and will not result in the letting of a contract. This process is solely to test the market to gather information and ascertain the level of interest in this Service. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/fb73f560-59af-4747-b2c4-63844071919e | | Notice type | Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 5 Oct 2026 | | Submission deadline | 16 Oct 2026 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 17 Oct 2026 - 18 Oct 2026 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | Sheffield City Council | | Locality | SHEFFIELD | | Postcode area | Sheffield | | Postcode | S1 2HH | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber | | ITL 2 | TLE3 South Yorkshire | | ITL 3 | TLE32 Sheffield | | Local authority | Sheffield | | Electoral ward | City | | Westminster constituency | Sheffield Central | | Delivery location | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security ### Codes - 55900000 - Retail trade services - 79952000 - Event services ## Release History - 5 Oct 2026 at 09:03 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/fb73f560-59af-4747-b2c4-63844071919e ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/fb73f560-59af-4747-b2c4-63844071919e 5th October 2026 - Opportunity notice on Contracts Finder - https://uk.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=109709&B=UK Additional data - https://uk.eu-supply.com/ctm/Company/CompanyInformation/Index/104130 User / Company ## Notice URLs - http://sheffield.gov.uk ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-8e2dfed8-0f51-4dc1-b0a0-e063a19bd7ba. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8e2dfed8-0f51-4dc1-b0a0-e063a19bd7ba.json.