Bord Bia is seeking out ‘visionary and ambitious’ brands to help transform the Bord Bia Bloom outdoor festival into a world-class immersive experience.

Bloom has grown from its roots as a gardening festival supporting the Irish horticulture industry into a major outdoor event that attracts c.110,000 people to the Phoenix Park in Dublin each June bank holiday weekend.

Bord Bia recently announced the appointment of Laura Douglas as new Head of Bord Bia Bloom and Brand Partnerships. Douglas has previously worked on events such as Carlsberg Cat Laughs and the Vodafone Comedy Festival.

“In 2023 our ambition is to work closely with visionary brands to reposition Bloom as a world-class, uplifting and innovative horticulture, food and drink experience, with nature and sustainable living at its heart,” said Douglas.

“Of the 2022 attendees 75% were under the age of 54 with over half aged between 35-54. While Bord Bia Bloom is still loved by our traditional audience (female, 55+, ABC1), our growth is coming in our key target market (male and female, 35+, ABC1) and this is where we see the greatest potential as we reimagine Bord Bia Bloom for a new era.”

In Association with

Douglas said there are three main sponsorship opportunities for partner brands:

• Sponsor a show garden. “Brands will have a blank canvas to tell their story through the colourful medium of horticulture, partnering with a leading Irish or international garden designer to create a living platform to tell the brand story,” said Douglas.
• Become a sustainable partner.
• Sponsor a feature at the event.

The Bloom show gardens have attracted a wide range of sponsors over the years, including Santa Rita Estates, Universal Pictures, the Marie Keating Foundation, Aldi and the National Dairy Council.

Jennifer Cimerman of the Marie Keating Foundation said the show gardens provide multiple touchpoints to engage with people and get your message across.

“We engaged a monitoring agency to evaluate our coverage in the build-up to and following Bloom 2019 and learned that we received PR valued at €1.5m,” she said.

Details on the sponsorship opportunities at Bord Bia Bloom 2023 are available here.