Aid for cultural prizes and competitions increased to 2 million

The Office for Support of Cultural Initiatives (OSIC) is increasing the budget allocation by 1,250,000 euros for the call for grants to support the organization and celebration of cultural awards and competitions for the 2026-2027 period. With this increase, the line is set at a total of 2,000,000 euros, according to the Board of Directors’ Agreement adopted on July 28, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC no. 9742, of September 1, 2026) via Resolution CLT/3028/2026, of July 29.

The original call, approved by the Board of Directors’ Agreement of May 13, 2026, and published by Resolution CLT/1595/2026, of May 18 (DOGC no. 9674, of 5/28/2026), set a maximum allocation of 750,000 euros. The expansion, processed at the proposal of the Department of Culture, is based on article 92.4 of the Recast Text of the Public Finance Law of Catalonia (Legislative Decree 3/2002) and article 7.3.a) of the OSIC Statutes (Decree 7/2012). The official document reference is CVE-DOGC-A-26233019-2026 (ref. BDNS 907109).

An expansion divided into two annual periods

The increase of 1,250,000 euros is distributed between the 2026 and 2028 fiscal years, charged to budget items 7495D/4820001, 7495D/4600001, 7495D/4610001, 7495D/4690001, 7495D/4490001, and 7495D/4420001:

• 1,000,000 euros charged to the OSIC budget for the year 2026, which is set at 1,600,000 euros.
• 250,000 euros charged to the budget corresponding to the year 2028, which is set at 400,000 euros.

The total allocation of the line, adding the initial amount and the expansion, is set at 2,000,000 euros.

Beneficiaries and granting regime

The grants are awarded on a competitive basis and are intended for cultural entities and organizers throughout Catalonia that promote the celebration of awards and competitions in the cultural field. The Agreement also provides that, should any surpluses occur in any of the budget items, the corresponding amount may be applied to the allocation of other items based on the admitted applications.

The Agreement was signed in Barcelona on July 29, 2026, by the president of the OSIC Board of Directors, Josep Maria Carreté Nadal.

Impact on the cultural sector

The expansion nearly triples the initial allocation of the call, which will allow for a larger number of applications to be addressed and reinforce public support for cultural creation and dissemination throughout the territory. For entities organizing awards and competitions, the measure represents a wider financing window for the 2026 and 2028 fiscal years, in a context where competition for public aid is high.

Source: Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya, no. 9742, September 1, 2026, Other provisions section (official reference: CVE-DOGC-A-26233019-2026).