---
title: "Submergence at NOVUM Festival"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06e90e"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e90e"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e90e.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e90e.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Newcastle City Council"
published: "2026-08-20"
---

# Submergence at NOVUM Festival

Buyer: Newcastle City Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06e90e

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## Summary

Newcastle City Council commissioned “Submergence at NOVUM Festival”, an immersive walk-through experience installation for the festival. The requirement combines event services with artistic services, covering the creation and installation of an audience-facing experience rather than a conventional supply of goods or construction works. The contracting authority is Newcastle City Council, based at the Civic Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne. The service was associated with the North East of England. This opportunity would be relevant to businesses that design, produce and install immersive visitor experiences for festivals, cultural events or other public-facing programmes, particularly those able to combine creative development with practical event delivery and installation.

The procurement has been completed and awarded. Newcastle City Council used a direct award below the applicable threshold, without competition, under the stated legal basis. One lot was completed, with the contract awarded to SQUIDSOUP LIMITED. The award is active. The contract was signed on 5 August 2026 and runs from 5 August to 31 August 2026. Its value is £25,000 excluding VAT, or £30,000 including VAT. The award covers the event and artistic services needed for the Submergence installation. The recorded evaluation route was a direct award rather than a competitive assessment, so the contract was not selected through published price-and-quality criteria or a scored tender process.

For a supplier that did not win this contract, the procurement indicates demand from Newcastle City Council for short-duration, installation-led cultural event work. A credible future competitor would need to show the ability to develop and deliver an immersive walk-through experience, manage physical installation and removal within a tightly defined festival programme, and provide reliable event delivery. Relevant evidence could include completed artistic installations, public or cultural event projects, audience-facing experiential work, and the operational capacity to coordinate creative production with on-site logistics. Smaller specialist firms may be well suited to this type of requirement: the appointed supplier is recorded as an SME. Businesses combining artistic capability with practical event production should monitor this buyer’s requirements in this specific area.

## Notice

Immersive walk-through experience installation at NOVUM Festival.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079655-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 20 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 5 Aug 2026 - 31 Aug 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £25,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Newcastle City Council |
| Locality | NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE |
| Postcode area | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Postcode | NE1 8QH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear |
| ITL 3 | TLC43 Tyneside |
| Local authority | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Electoral ward | Monument |
| Westminster constituency | Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | SQUIDSOUP LIMITED |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
- 92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

### Codes

- 79952000 - Event services
- 92312000 - Artistic services

## Release History

- 20 Aug 2026 at 16:50 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079655-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079655-2026
  20th August 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.newcastle.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-h6vhtk-06e90e. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e90e.json.