Brass Ring Excellence & Individual Achievement Award Winners 2025

(eap) After the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) had already honored the best new products 2025 in the leisure industry in November (see EAP News of 20 Nov 2025), the best initiatives, campaigns, facilities, and professionals among IAAPA members have now been recognized as part of the “Brass Ring Excellence Awards” and the “Regional Individual Achievement Awards”. The selection of the award winners was carried out by volunteer IAAPA committees composed of international industry experts. The official award ceremony is scheduled to take place at IAAPA Honors 2026 in Xcaret, Mexico in May.

This year, numerous European leisure facilities were pleased to receive an award: In the category “Best Reward, Recognition, and Retention Program”, the Spanish operating group Parques Reunidos was honored for its service initiative “WOW Card”. The program is designed to recognize employees and improve service quality across the parks. More about the initiative can be found in our interview with Brad Loxley, COO of Parques Reunidos, in the latest issue of EAP.

An award in the category “Marketing Excellence” was claimed by the Swedish theme park Liseberg. The jury honored the digital marketing campaign “The Weather Game”. At the heart of this campaign is an online game in which potential guests collect raindrops in a bucket and must achieve a minimum number of points. If players reach at least 800 points, they have the chance to win a 50 percent discount on admission and ride passes for up to eight people.

The Dutch theme park Efteling impressed the jury with its sustainability program “A Sustainable World of Wonders”. “We are extremely proud of this international recognition,” highlights Fons Jurgens, Chairman of the Board of Efteling. “Efteling invests extensively in sustainability across many areas. It is our responsibility to pass on Efteling to future generations in an even more beautiful form. This is only possible if the park remains attractive to guests, clearly communicates its unique value, and treats its nature-oriented surroundings responsibly. Climate neutrality by 2030 and net zero by 2050 are among our goals, as are our social and corporate responsibilities. This international award is a recognition of this work and confirms that the ESG path we have taken is the right one.”

Disneyland Paris was honoured for its new evening show “Disney Tales of Magic”.

Two European parks were announced as winners in the category “Live Entertainment Excellence Awards”. On the one hand, Sweden’s Kolmården Wildlife Park was honored for its show “The Enchanted Golden Egg”, and on the other hand, Disneyland Paris receives an award for its new evening show “Disney Tales of Magic”.

The award for Family Entertainment Center (FEC) of the Year goes to HUPALUPA Istanbul, which combines attractions such as trampoline and climbing offers, bowling, VR, and arcade games. In the category “Location-Based Entertainment” (LBE), the jury was impressed by the Deutschlandmuseum, which opened in Berlin in 2023 and takes visitors on a one-hour journey through 2,000 years of German history (see EAP 6/2023). “History museums are often considered boring,” states Robert Rückel, founder and director of the Deutschlandmuseum. “Now a history museum has won the top prize of the association of experience professionals and prevailed against fun attractions. That is unique and makes us incredibly proud. We prove that history can be told in an emotional, exciting, and fascinating way!”

Jeroen Nijpels (tl), Isabel Fletcher (tr) & Arnaud Bennet In addition to the Brass Ring Excellence Award winners, the following individuals were announced as recipients of an Individual Achievement Award in the EMEA region: Isabel Fletcher (Universal Creative) was honored as Young Professional, Jeroen Nijpels (JNELC) was recognized in the Service category, and Arnaud Bennet (Le PAL) in the Inspiration category.

A complete overview of all categories and international winners can be found here. ■