As the CN Agency Awards 2026 draws closer, so does the build-up for the prestigious Grand Prix award.
Dubbed the ‘Agency of the Year’, the Grand Prix Award recognises agencies that have demonstrated outstanding excellence across multiple disciplines at the CN Agency Awards.
The winner is calculated based on the combined score of an agency’s top three highest-scoring shortlisted entries. To qualify, an agency must be shortlisted in a minimum of three categories.
It represents consistent, high-level performance across the awards, celebrating the agency that has delivered exceptional work across several disciplines.
For 2026, 16 agencies have been shortlisted for the Grand Prix Award:
- 2Heads
- Brands at Work
- Bray Leino Events
- Cheerful Twentyfirst
- Clownfish Events
- DRPG
- emc3
- Emota
- MCI UK
- NR Events
- Principal Global Events
- Rapiergroup
- Sledge
- Stagestruck
- TFI Lodestar
- Total Management Group
For those in contention, the Grand Prix represents recognition not just for individual campaigns but for the strength of their wider work.
Rob Brazier, client services director at Rapiegroup, said: “Winning the Grand Prix would honestly mean a lot to all of us. It’s not about one project or one moment. We look after our clients and each other with the genuine desire to do the right thing. We all have a real passion for events and creating amazing in-person experiences for others.”
Leanne Galea, head of meetings and events at Emota added: “We’re immensely proud of the award-winning work we do at Emota, and the Conference News Grand Prix award would be a tremendous honour. Internally, it would be an incredible validatation to our team that their talent and hard work are truly recognised. Externally, as a relatively new brand, it would help cement our position in the industry, showcasing that we’re delivering excellence at the highest level.”
Last year, Stagestruck took home the Grand Prix award, and the agency finds itself in the running once again in 2026.
Managing director, Paul Finch said: “To be recognised across four categories for the second year running is incredibly affirming, not just because of the volume of work, but because of the breadth of it as well.
“It also helps to show that what we’re building isn’t one dimensional, and that our creative thinking, operational delivery, client partnerships and internal culture are aligned and performing at a consistently high level.”
He added: “Winning the Grand Prix in 2025 was a huge honour, of course, but even being in contention again this year confirms that we’re not just delivering great projects – we’re building a resilient, values-driven agency that performs across the board.
“It feels less like a moment of luck and more like the outcome of deliberate, sustained effort over a number of years.”
The CN Agency Awards 2026 are taking place on Friday 20 March at The Brewery, in London.
View the full shortlist for the CN Agency Awards 2026 here.
You can purchase you tickets for the CN Agency Awards 2026 here, with a very limited number still available.