01-07-2026
What is Perform Europe?
Perform Europe is a forward-looking funding scheme that supports inclusive, diverse, and environmentally sustainable cross-border touring in the performing arts across 41 Creative Europe countries.
By promoting innovative touring models, we foster a fairer touring of artistic works and help the performing arts sector adapt to a rapidly changing world. Special attention is given to projects involving underrepresented groups, communities and regions.
Perform Europe is led by a consortium of European performing arts networks: IETM - International network for contemporary performing arts, European Dance Development Network (EDN), European Festivals Association (EFA), Circostrada, Pearle* (Live Performance Europe), along with research organisation IDEA Consult. Pearle* joined the consortium in 2023, for the second edition onwards.
The first two editions (in 2020-2022 and 2023-2025) with a total budget of 3.5 million supported 61 partnerships, comprising more than 272 partners, showing 108 artistic works from all performing arts disciplines more than 850 times across 41 countries.
Following the success of the previous editions, we are thrilled to launch the third Open Call on 23 June 2026 which will be open until 22 October 2026. The call is open to performing arts professionals and organisations from all Creative Europe countries, of all sizes and all performing arts disciplines (except live music). Perform Europe’s €1.4 million fund will support at least 25 successful partnerships. Of the total fund, 5% is reserved for projects involving Ukrainian partners or supporting the Ukrainian performing arts sector.
The Open call
Perform Europe is a funding scheme offering EUR 1.4 million for performing arts collaborations across all 41 Creative Europe countries. Perform Europe supports partnership proposals which reinvent the way we tour across borders.
After two highly successful editions (2020-2022 / 2023-2026), Perform Europe will continue to put emphasis on exploring, with the performing arts sector, how cross-border touring can be made fairer, greener, and more inclusive.
Keywords: performing arts, theatre, dance, performance, circus, outdoor arts, puppetry, interdisciplinary, change-makers, inclusion, diversity, fight against climate change, sustainability, fairness, cross-border mobility, innovation
Do you have an innovative idea that resonates with these keywords? Read on!
Priorities of Perform Europe
Proposals are submitted by collaboration partnerships of performing arts professionals and organisations. Partners should work on their proposal together. This is a call to the sector to create partnerships and propose impactful ideas that can generate real change via two main priorities:
- INCLUSION & DIVERSITY
- FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
Each proposal should choose one of the above main priorities to focus on, while still taking into account and implementing measures related to the second priority.
In addition, all proposals should aim for quality and innovation, be built on fair practices, and are encouraged to promote collaboration across different regions within the 41 Creative Europe countries.
The Consortium Partners
Perform Europe is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and co-initiated by a Consortium of 6 organisations:
IETM - International network for contemporary performing arts is one of the oldest and largest international cultural networks, representing the voice of over 500 professionals, organisations and institutions working in all the fields of the performing arts, including theatres and arts centres, festivals, performing companies, curators and programmers, producers, art councils and associations from more than 50 countries worldwide.
The European Festivals Association (EFA) is a community dedicated to the arts, the artists and the audiences. EFA’s main role is to connect festival makers to inform, inspire and enrich the festival landscape in Europe and beyond. In this perspective, EFA is a festivals’ service and a knowledge and training provider, developing a WE-story of people and organisations, bridging the distance between festivals and all kinds of stakeholders around festival making.
Circostrada is the European Network for Circus and Street Arts. It was created in 2003 and counts over 140 members coming from more than 40 countries. Its core mission is to further the development, empowerment and recognition of these fields at European and international level. Circostrada supports circus and street arts professionals by implementing a wide-range of capacity building initiatives, boosting professional exchange, gathering information and resources, fostering continuous training, innovation and knowledge-sharing.
EDN - European Dancehouse Network, established as a legal association in 2009, is a network for trust and cooperation between European dancehouses in sharing a common vision regarding the development of dance art across borders. In May 2020, EDN counted 45 members in 26 countries. Its key mission is to cooperate in securing a sustainable future for the dance sector and to improve relevance for diverse dance among society.
IDEA Consult provides independent advice to organisations and governments at all levels: local, intermediate, regional, federal and European. Their "Thinking Ahead" baseline reflects IDEA's unique value proposition: committed professionals involved in society and well connected with research institutions; evidence-based advice: applied research, based on validated techniques; sustainable solutions for actual social challenges.
Pearle* joined the consortium in 2023 for the relaunch of the project.
