Córdoba's IMAE approves 1.4 million for cultural festivals

The Governing Council of the Municipal Institute of Performing Arts (IMAE) Gran Teatro de Córdoba has approved the regulatory bases and the call for subsidies, under competitive bidding, aimed at festivals and cultural fairs held in the municipality, with a total allocation of €1,400,000. The agreement, adopted in an extraordinary session on 29 July 2026, was published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba number 155, of 12 August 2026, with reference BOP-A-2026-2796. The decision had only the votes in favour of the Popular group.

The call, processed under file 6698_GE01_2026_00982, seeks to promote audiovisual arts, music and performing arts by supporting cultural companies and entities that organise festivals and fairs, and covers expenses incurred between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2026, with one application per annual period. The file reached the Governing Council after the Plenary of the Corporation, on 23 July 2026, resolved the discrepancy and lifted the objection raised by the Comptroller General’s Office. The certification of the agreement, signed on 5 August 2026, is issued by the secretary of the Governing Council, Salud Gordillo Porcuna, with the approval of the president of IMAE, Isabel Albás Vives.

A call for 1.4 million in two lines

The total amount of the call, €1,400,000, is charged to two budget items:

€1,200,000 to item 0 3340 47900, “Other subsidies to private companies”.
€200,000 to item 0 3340 48001, “Other subsidies to non-profit entities”.

Private companies, natural or legal persons, and non-profit cultural entities that hold the exclusive rights to manage or promote the event may apply, with a maximum of one application per annual period and entity.

Requirements for eligible events

To access the aid, festivals and fairs must meet all the following conditions:

Be held in person within the municipal area of Córdoba.
Be a public event, not closed to a predetermined group.
Have as their purpose the exhibition of artistic creation linked to music, performing arts or audiovisual arts.
Have a minimum duration of ten calendar days and at least ten main shows or performances.
Last a maximum of five months.
Have spaces with a minimum capacity for 3,000 attendees.

Applications must be submitted electronically at the electronic office of the Córdoba City Council within 15 business days from the day following the publication of the extract of the call in the Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba.

Assessment criteria and amount of the aid

The Evaluation Committee, chaired by IMAE Management, will score applications out of a maximum of 100 points:

Sociocultural interest of the project, up to 46 points, with special weight given to the capacity offered (up to 40).
Artistic and cultural quality, up to 44 points, including the promotion of local and emerging creation.
Feasibility and dissemination of the project, up to 5 points.
National and international projection, up to 5 points.

A minimum of 25 points out of 46 is required in the sociocultural criterion and 50 out of 100 overall. The grant may reach 80% of the project budget, with a cap of €400,000 per project and year, and payment will be made upon prior justification of expenses.

Approval only with the votes of the Popular group

The proposal was approved by majority, with the votes in favor of the five representatives of the Popular group and the votes against from the representative of Vox, the two representatives of the PSOE, and the representative of Hacemos Córdoba. The call for applications and its five annexes (application form, budget, project and activity reports, and justifying financial report) will be published in the Official Bulletin of the Province of Córdoba, on the IMAE website, and in the National Database of Grants.

The call positions the IMAE Gran Teatro among the main municipal funders of Córdoba’s cultural fabric: organizers of festivals and fairs for music, performing arts, and audiovisual works may opt for up to €400,000 per project and year for their 2025 and 2026 programs. The submission period will begin once the extract is published, so the cultural sector is closely following a process that, due to the split vote and the prior objection from the General Intervention Office, has not been free of controversy.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Province of Córdoba, No. 155, August 12, 2026, Other Entities section, p. 12284 (official reference: BOP-A-2026-2796).