We're incredibly excited you're interested in hosting an event as part of ViennaUP 2027 between 10 - 14 May or during the ViennaUP WarmUP weekend, from 7 - 9 May.

While ViennaUP is initiated, coordinated, and promoted internationally by the Vienna Business Agency, it's the creativity and cooperation of you, our programme partners, that make the festival thrive. 

This page outlines the minimum standards and selection criteria for participating events with respect to event coordination, contents, and communication. Please review the information below before submitting your event application via the submission form (Deadline: 6 October, 2026). 

Our two guiding themes for ViennaUP 2027 are Growth and Transformation

Every event should align with one, or ideally both, of these themes: 

• Growth: How startups secure investments, funding, grow operationally, expand into new markets, develop high-performing teams, and scale sustainably.
• Transformation: How new technologies, business models, and ways of working reshape industries and markets; how to strengthen European tech sovereignty; how to foster a more diverse, inclusive and resilient tech ecosystem. 

These themes should be reflected across every vertical your event covers. We understand that some sessions may touch on both aspects, but we would like to clarify where your primary focus should lie. 

Events covering the following verticals are especially encouraged to apply: deeptech (particularly life sciences, health, AI, quantum), fintech, smart production, and green economy.

Hackathons and workshops focused on the ideation and early business formation stage may be considered for the WarmUP weekend.

In the submission form, you can select one or more available festival slots that you would like to apply for. Please answer all questions and describe your event concept, its target audiences and focus topic / vertical as precisely as possible.

Minimum requirements for joining ViennaUP 

Below are some of the most important prerequisites for ViennaUP events. The final deliverables will be finalized in the ViennaUP agreement that will be signed with each selected programme partner organising a main event in November-December 2026.

• All events must demonstrate clear relevance for international stakeholders. Events exclusively targeting national stakeholders are outside the scope of ViennaUP.
• Events and related communication/marketing must be in English.

• Events have a clear value proposition for either one or more of the following target groups: 

  - Startups/scaleups/spin-offs,

  - Investors, business angels,

  - Corporates and established companies (e.g., Innovation managers, intrapreneurs, etc.),

  - Startup ecosystem builders (e.g., incubators, accelerators, public organisations working on startup-related topics, related media, etc.).

• Diversity, inclusion, impact, fairness, and accessibility build the core values of our activities. Regardless of ability, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or social status, we aim to create a diverse and welcoming experience for both partners and audiences. We look for programme partners who embrace these values and help amplify them throughout the festival.All participating events are committed to building events which are aligned with these values.

• Ensure full integration into the festival and clearly identify the event as part of ViennaUP, including:

  - Prominent placement of ViennaUP branding materials at the event venue,

  - Distribution of ViennaUP wristbands and flyers at event check-in,

  - Active communication to participants about festival-wide offerings and opportunities, such as the Homebase and Coffee Spaces,

  - Screening of the “Welcome to ViennaUP” video on stage at the beginning of the event.

• Use of the ViennaUP ticketing platform: To create a more user-friendly experience for a decentralised festival, ViennaUP provides and covers the costs of a common ticketing platform. All events listed in the festival’s main agenda are required to use the ViennaUP ticketing solution unless agreed upon differently in advance. 
  Please note: ViennaUP does not own any personal data of your event participants – the data of each participant registered for a specific event is only visible to the respective programme partner and won’t be shared with the ViennaUP team. The ViennaUP team has access only to aggregated overall statistics, such as the number of participants, number of tickets, and countries of origin.   

• Clearly communicate before and during the event that the event is part of ViennaUP 2026, including:

  - Using the “Part of ViennaUP” wording and logo across all relevant communications, with prominent placement on the event website,

  - Including the ViennaUP boilerplate text and a link to ViennaUP.com on the event website and other communication channels,

  - Using the “Part of ViennaUP” logo on all social media visuals, online advertising materials, and other digital communication,

  - Using the #ViennaUP hashtag on social media,

  - Including the ViennaUP logo on all event signage, where applicable.

• While the ViennaUP team of the Vienna Business Agency provides website support and general promotion via the ViennaUP campaign, event hosts are responsible for registration, communication, coordination, marketing, and associated costs. ViennaUP does not charge programme partners any participation fee and is not involved in any decisions regarding the business model of their events.
• Programme partners meet all deadlines (see timeline below). Event hosts commit to dedicating time to participate in ViennaUP online calls via MS Teams / personal meetings to align with the ViennaUP team: 2-3 expected one-on-one online meetings; 2-3 expected update calls for all programme partners; 1 expected onsite meeting (on 5 November 2026 in Vienna).
• Accessibility: Each event must provide information about accessibility in its listing on the website (e.g., wheelchair accessibility, aids for visually impaired or hearing-impaired persons, etc.).
• Sustainability: to save costs, ressources and reduce the events' environmental impact, we recommend considering the events' sustainability policies already in the early stage of the planning process. A very good guidance on possible sustainability measures is provided in the ÖkoEvent Criteria document (a free event sustainability certification provided by the City of Vienna).
• Collect (GDPR-compatible) participant data & participate in the evaluations: # registered attendees, # participating attendees, % attendees from abroad, # speakers, and the % or # of female and diverse speakers. If applicable, also collect and submit statistics on the number of meetings and startup pitches. 

All applications for open festival slots submitted via the provided form by 6 October, 2026, whose organisers commit to fulfilling the minimum requirements for joining ViennaUP stated above, will be evaluated through a curation process conducted by the ViennaUP team. Events will be curated to form a cohesive and innovative festival programme based on the following criteria: 

We distinguish between main events and side events. Main events form the core of the festival programme. Side events complement the main programme and are listed in the Side Events page on the ViennaUP website. We consider formats such as workshops, deep dives, masterclasses, networking-only events, or demo days side events. This year, the acquisition of side events starts at the same time as the acquisition of main events and they can be submitted via the same application form as main events. 

You can already find an overview of the already confirmed ViennaUP events here (PDF). The events selected to join the list will be communicated to their respective organisers by mid October (see the timeline further below). 

See the 2026 aftermovie here and explore the agenda of the previous ViennaUP edition for your reference here (PDF).