Mumbai: The London International Awards (LIA) has officially opened entries for its 2026 awards season, offering a 35% entry discount and unveiling six new categories aimed at broadening the scope of global creative recognition.
Positioned as a show “created for creatives,” LIA continues to be ranked among the world’s leading award programs, featuring in major global creative rankings such as the WARC Creative 100, The Drum World Creative Rankings, ADC Germany, Indikat and Campaign Brief Rankings.
Announcing the call for entries, Christina Shaw, VP – Awards Director, LIA, highlighted the value of awards in driving creative and business growth. “Winning awards is where the magic happens in gaining more value for your work. It’s the gateway to greater creativity, more personal and business opportunities. As it has been said, ‘…to be a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win and expect to win.’ And we are here to help you do that,” she said.
Six new categories introduced for 2026
To reflect evolving creative disciplines and industry priorities, LIA has introduced six new categories for 2026:
- Sports: Honouring culturally aware, impactful work inspired by sport and sportspeople, capturing the drama and unity of sport to drive brand and cultural impact.
- Gaming: Recognising branded experiences built through video games and gamified interactive media across desktop, mobile, web, virtual and Web3 platforms.
- Cultural Catalyst: Celebrating ideas that spark cultural conversation, set trends and embed brands into the cultural fabric.
- Entertainment & Content: Rewarding brand storytelling that operates as genuine entertainment across film, television, gaming, mobile and live ecosystems.
- Business Transformation: Acknowledging creativity embedded in products, services, operations and customer experience that drives enduring business change.
- Democracy & Human Rights: Honouring communications that actively promote democratic values and human rights globally. Supported by the European Parliament (without operational involvement), the category excludes work for political parties or candidates.
According to LIA, the additions are intended to increase opportunities for agencies, brands and creators to showcase work on a global stage, reflecting how creativity now spans culture, entertainment, technology and organisational transformation.
Entry eligibility and judging timeline
LIA will accept entries for work first released between 1 July 2025 and 31 August 2026.
Onsite judging will take place from 25 September to 3 October 2026 at Encore @ Wynn Las Vegas. Winners and finalists will be announced between 28 September and 5 October 2026.
Winners receive the Winged LIA statue, widely regarded in the industry as a benchmark of global creative excellence and a career-defining accolade.
With expanded categories and discounted entry, LIA aims to encourage broader global participation as it kicks off the 2026 awards cycle.
