Culture, sport and religion in Europe: what they buy and who supplies them
Buyers declaring "Recreation, culture and religion" as their main activity, across the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
In proportion
General government spending on goods, services and investment for recreation, culture and religion in the EU-27 came to €109 billion in 2024 (Eurostat, COFOG). How much of it reaches suppliers through tenders depends on how the country organises the sector — for example whether statutory health insurance is classified in government.
Source: Eurostat, government finance statistics (gov_10a_main, gov_10a_exp) and GDP (nama_10_gdp), retrieved 9 November 2026.
The market in numbers
Public supply contracts in Europe: award notices published on TED from 2023-11 to 2026-11, by publication year.
- Contracts awarded
- 7.7K
- in 3.1K award notices
- Awarded value
- €1.7B
- from 73% of awards with a published value
- Suppliers
- 3K
- with at least one award
- Public buyers
- 992
- in this sector
Table view
| Nov–Dec 2023 | 61 |
| 2024 | 2,014 |
| 2025 | 2,710 |
| 2026 | 2,929 |
Table view
| Nov–Dec 2023 | €26.2M |
| 2024 | €549.1M |
| 2025 | €624M |
| 2026 | €531.3M |
- Other8,796
Table view
| Animal products, meat and meat products | 942 |
| Miscellaneous food products | 935 |
| Food, beverages, tobacco and related products | 739 |
| Dairy products | 685 |
| Fruit, vegetables and related products | 647 |
| Prepared and preserved fish | 584 |
| Animal or vegetable oils and fats | 528 |
| Grain mill products, starches and starch products | 515 |
| Other | 8,796 |
- Romania1,522168 companies
- Czechia1,047267 companies
- Spain895439 companies
- Hungary891236 companies
- France719405 companies
- Poland500237 companies
- Germany427268 companies
- Estonia325116 companies
- Finland236131 companies
- Greece17292 companies
Table view
| Romania | 1,522 |
| Czechia | 1,047 |
| Spain | 895 |
| Hungary | 891 |
| France | 719 |
| Poland | 500 |
| Germany | 427 |
| Estonia | 325 |
| Finland | 236 |
| Greece | 172 |
- Large companies
- Medium-sized
- Small
- Micro
- SME (size not stated)
- Size not stated
Table view
| Large companies | 1,429 · 18.5% |
| Medium-sized | 1,225 · 15.9% |
| Small | 1,242 · 16.1% |
| Micro | 588 · 7.6% |
| SME (size not stated) | 1,628 · 21.1% |
| Size not stated | 1,602 · 20.8% |
- Germany54
- United Kingdom27
- France22
- Spain17
- Italy14
- Belgium12
Table view
| Germany | 54 |
| United Kingdom | 27 |
| France | 22 |
| Spain | 17 |
| Italy | 14 |
| Belgium | 12 |
Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country
96.8%
248 awards went to companies registered elsewhere.
Share of the 5 biggest winners
8%
Of all awards; a high share means a concentrated market.
Lots with a single bid
32.5%
Among 7.2K awards whose notice states the number of tenders.
How we count: one award per procedure, lot and winning company, from live contract award notices; a joint procurement counts on every buyer's market. Values are the awarded amounts published in the notice (framework ceilings and estimates are never added), converted to euro at the ECB yearly average. Company size is the SME flag of the notice (eForms BT-165). Read the methodology.
Questions
- What do culture, sport and religion in Europe buy through public tenders?
- Mostly animal products, meat and meat products (942 awards), miscellaneous food products (935 awards), food, beverages, tobacco and related products (739 awards) — 7,714 supply contracts in total since November 2023.
- How much is it worth?
- The 5,603 awards with a published value add up to €1.7B; the rest are framework ceilings or undisclosed amounts, which we never add.
All sectors in Europe · Europe by product category
Source: contract award notices on TED — Tenders Electronic Daily (ted.europa.eu), © European Union, published since November 2023; processed by Cresques. Numbers updated 2026-11-13.