The Sardinia Region has allocated grants to municipalities organising New Year’s Eve 2026 events. Under the programme announced by the Regional Government, Alghero will host the main event, supported by €3 million in regional funding and linked to initiatives in other town squares across the island.
The framework was presented by the Region on 1 September, following the formal approval of the project in Regional Government resolution no. 41/32 of 7 August. The plan combines the main event in Alghero with the opportunity for Sardinian municipalities to apply for support for their own events. These are two separate components: funding for the main event and grants for municipal initiatives.
The event is designed to bring several locations together, with Alghero as the central hub. The format also makes room for events organised by other municipalities and presents New Year’s Eve as an opportunity to enliven the destination during the winter season. Regional Tourism Councillor Franco Cuccureddu described the programme as a way to strengthen the island’s appeal during the holiday period and school break.
Support for local initiatives builds on a model the Region already used for New Year’s Eve 2025. In that call for proposals, projects were divided into two categories according to expected capacity: one for events hosting at least 10,000 people and another for those hosting at least 3,000. The thresholds concerned planned audience capacity and were accompanied by event safety and management criteria.
For the 2025 edition, the first category had €2 million available and the second €1 million. Those figures belonged to last year’s call for proposals and do not describe the funding for the 2026 edition: the €3 million announced for Alghero is instead for the main event. This distinction is also useful when considering the regional measures for local town squares, which are aimed at municipalities and serve a different purpose from the central programme.
The regional model therefore links a flagship event with a network of activities spread across the area. For details on how public funding for New Year’s Eve events works, see the guide to funding for concerts, which explains how these funds are earmarked and how they differ from expenditure on other services.