---
title: "Assembly Rooms Festival Operator"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000790432"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000790432"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000790432.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000790432.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL"
published: "2025-09-10"
---

# Assembly Rooms Festival Operator

Buyer: THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000790432

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## Summary

The City of Edinburgh Council has awarded a Concession Contract for an Assembly Rooms Festival Operator. This contract, now at the contract award stage, has been granted to Assembly Festival Ltd, with the procurement process having been conducted through an open procedure. The selection process aimed to appoint an experienced Festival Operator capable of developing and managing a diverse programme of performances, along with handling box office, marketing, and production staffing requirements at The Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh. The contract, valued at £567,237 GBP, will commence operations from August 2026 for five years, with an optional extension of up to two further years as per the Council's discretion.

This tender provides significant opportunities for businesses in the events management and festival operations sectors. Those skilled in curating diverse performance programmes and handling comprehensive venue operations will find this contract align with their core competencies. Moreover, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Edinburgh area with experience in similar cultural and entertainment events will likely find this an auspicious opportunity for expansion and partnership growth with a prominent regional authority. By engaging with a prestigious event such as this, businesses can harness growth avenues and elevate their market position within the cultural services sector.

## Notice

The City of Edinburgh Council (the "Council") awarded a Concession Contract for the Assembly Rooms Festival Operator. The Council's appointed an experienced Festival Operator to develop and manage a diverse programme of performances, provide all box office and marketing requirements, provide all production staff to support programming and operate the shows and build seating infrastructure within the venue. The Operator shall pay a fixed hire fee to the Council and the venue shall be subject to a damage deposit. It is expected that the new Contract shall operate from April 2026 for a period of five years with the option (at the Council's discretion) to extend for a further two 12-month periods.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Concession Contract for an experienced Festival Operator who will develop and manage a programme of performances on the full first floor of The Assembly Rooms during a five-week summer period in August of each year starting in 2026. Please refer to the Specification for details in full.

Renewal: This is a five year contract with the option to extend for up to a further two 12-months periods at the sole discretion of the Council.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP538921 |
| Notice type | PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 10 Sep 2025 |
| Submission deadline | 2 Jul 2025 |
| Future notice date | 1 Jun 2025 |
| Award date | 15 Aug 2025 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Late 2031 |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £504,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £567,237 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL |
| Locality | EDINBURGH |
| Post town | Edinburgh |
| Postcode | EH8 8BG |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM1 East Central Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM13 City of Edinburgh |
| Local authority | City of Edinburgh |
| Electoral ward | City Centre |
| Westminster constituency | Edinburgh East and Musselburgh |
| Delivery location | TLM75 City of Edinburgh |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ASSEMBLY FESTIVAL |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79952000 - Event services
- 79953000 - Festival organisation services
- 92312100 - Theatrical producers', singer groups', bands' and orchestras' entertainment services
- 92312110 - Theatrical producer entertainment services

## Release History

- 10 Sep 2025 at 00:00 - Award - PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP538921
- 2 Jun 2025 at 00:00 - Tender - PCS Notice - Website Contract Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUN531549
- 12 Feb 2025 at 00:00 - Planning - PCS Notice - Website Prior Information Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=FEB523767

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=FEB523767&idx=1
  7th March 2025 - It would be appreciated if you could please complete and return this questionnaire by 14/04/2025.
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=FEB523767
  Assembly Rooms Festival Operator - The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to inform the market of the intention of the City of Edinburgh Council (the "Council") to tender a Concession Contract for an experienced Events Producer or Organisation, to develop and manage a program of performances on the full first floor of The Assembly Rooms during a 5-week summer period in August of each year starting in 2026. The Council's aim is to appoint an experienced Event Producer or Organisation to develop and manage a diverse program of performances, provide all box office and marketing requirements, provide all production staff to support programme and operate the shows and build seating infrastructure within the venue to maximise pace and potential. Please note that the Assembly Rooms will provide all bars in the venue and retain all income generated from Bar sales. Assembly Rooms will also provide all Front of House and Security staff in line with Event Producer's requirements and all costs of staff to be met by the Event Producer. The estimated contract value is based on the rental fee paid to the Council, it does not include any anticipated staff cost. The street area outside the Assembly Rooms has been used as an additional performance and bar area during the Festival by previous hirers, the agreement to utilise this a separate discussion with the City of Edinburgh Council and as such is not part of this hire. It is expected that the new Contract shall operate from August 2026 for a period of five years with the option (at the Council's discretion) to extend for a further two 12-month periods.
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUN531549
  Assembly Rooms Festival Operator - The City of Edinburgh Council (the "Council") requires a Concession Contract for an experienced Festival Operator to develop and manage a programme of performances on the full first floor of the Assembly Rooms during a five-week summer period in August of each year starting in 2026. The Council's aim is to appoint an experienced Festival Operator to develop and manage a diverse programme of performances, provide all box office and marketing requirements, provide all production staff to support programming and operate the shows and build seating infrastructure within the venue to maximise pace and potential. Please note that the Assembly Rooms will provide all bars in the venue and retain all income generated from Bar sales. The Assembly Rooms will also provide all Front of House and Security staff in line with Event Producer's requirements and all costs of staff to be met by the Event Producer. The estimated contract value is based on the rental fee paid to the Council, it does not include any anticipated staff cost. The external street area outside the Assembly Rooms has been used as an additional performance and bar area during the Festival by previous hirers, the agreement to utilise this a separate discussion with the Council and as such is not part of this hire. It is expected that the new Contract shall operate from August 2026 for a period of five years with the option (at the Council's discretion) to extend for a further two 12-month periods.
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP538921
  Assembly Rooms Festival Operator - The City of Edinburgh Council (the "Council") awarded a Concession Contract for the Assembly Rooms Festival Operator. The Council's appointed an experienced Festival Operator to develop and manage a diverse programme of performances, provide all box office and marketing requirements, provide all production staff to support programming and operate the shows and build seating infrastructure within the venue. The Operator shall pay a fixed hire fee to the Council and the venue shall be subject to a damage deposit. It is expected that the new Contract shall operate from April 2026 for a period of five years with the option (at the Council's discretion) to extend for a further two 12-month periods.

## Notice URLs

- http://
- http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk
- http://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000790432

## 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-r6ebe6-0000790432. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000790432.json.