Public services are services offered to the general public and/or in the public interest with the main purpose of developing public value. At the European level, these public services can also be called “services of general economic interest” (SGEI).

SGEI are economic activities that public authorities identify as being of particular importance to citizens and that would not be supplied (or would be supplied under different conditions) if there were no public intervention.

For organisations in the live performance falling under the scope of EU legislation targeted at public sectors or public services, EU rules in areas such as public procurement, state aid, data protection and the accessibility of public sector services have a significant impact.

For most of the above-mentioned rules, specific exemptions or simplified procedures are in place for the cultural sector.