Commission to deliver Community Lantern Parade, Dacorum Borough Council

This is a fantastic opportunity to work in partnership with Dacorum Borough Council to deliver an inclusive parade in Hemel Hempstead.

In 2026 an inaugural Hemel Community Lantern Parade was delivered with widespread community participation. We now have the opportunity to build on this success and are looking to commission an arts organisation/freelance team with relevant experience to develop and deliver the next event ideally in January - early March 2027.

The project will help deliver the Council's recently adopted Arts and Culture Strategy, with ambitions to activate the town centre, enhance our local cultural offer and create memorable experiences that bring people together.

This aims to be an inclusive community event to involve residents and bring a wide audience into town. It is expected that workshops will take place with the local community, school groups and/or general public. The process will also support the development of our local arts sector in Dacorum area, and proposals involving or led by local creative practitioners are encouraged.

A budget of approx. £40,000 has been allocated for this commission.

The appointed Provider will deliver:

Plan and deliver a community event on a date to be agreed with Dacorum Borough Council, ideally February or early March 2027
Plan and deliver community participation as part of the process
Full event production and management, event safety planning and management and logistics
Event plan to be submitted to the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) a minimimum of 6 weeks in advance of the event
Liaison with DBC Marketing and Comms team on promotion and publicity
Evaluation of the event including gathering feedback from participants and audiences.
All event management team, including any volunteers and stewards, to be the responsibility of the provider
Appoint and manage event infrastructure as required e.g. First Aid, Security, performers.