The Rules
The BIBAs are open to all businesses located in Lancashire, as defined by the Local Government Act of 1972.
Entries are confidential and will only be shared with a select group of judges for evaluation. All entries must be submitted through The BIBAs Website using the appropriate form, with a maximum
of five image file attachments allowed. Entries exceeding the file size limit will be deleted.
Categories focused on achievements within the past 12 months refer to activities dating back to January 2023.
Finalists must commit to attend the BIBAs ceremony and reserve tickets online. Entering multiple categories is allowed as long as eligibility criteria are met.
All entries will be acknowledged automatically, but if not received within 15 minutes of submission, applicants should contact 01772 653000 for assistance.
Late entries will not be accepted unless previously agreed upon. Applicants must have the authorisation to enter their organisation into the awards program and all entries should be in English.
Confidentiality is maintained for all applications, with no information disclosed to outside parties.
Financial details are also treated with the utmost confidentiality.
Winners and finalists will receive an official logo for promotional use.
All businesses are encouraged to attend the ceremony, regardless of competition status.
The award ceremony will take place on September 20th, 2024, at Blackpool Tower’s Ballroom.
Cancellations for ceremony places must be made in writing at least 28 days prior to the event for a refund consideration.
Judges, including sponsor representatives and guest judges, reserve the right to move applications to different categories and their decision is final.
By entering the awards, businesses agree to share contact details with partners and sponsors.
Participants also agree to participate in awards publicity and allow the use of submitted materials.
Sponsors and judges are not eligible to enter the BIBAs.
Judging your application
Eligibility and Quality Test – round 1
Following the closing date, your application(s) will undergo an eligibility check and will be scored against
a set of robust benchmarking standards by a sifting panel.
The sifting-panel reserve the right to highlight relevant categories that suit applications with a view to
recognising the business in that category. Applicants will be contacted to confirm acceptance.
All application forms will be scored out of 100 by a sifting panel. Only the 12 top scoring applications
will go onto the next round (interviews).
All applicants shortlisted for interview will be informed. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified by close
of business the same day. The shortlist will not be published.
If you are shortlisted you must be available to attend an interview on 16th or 17th May 2024.
Shortlist Interviews – round 2
This stage is classified as the shortlist stage where up to a maximum of twelve businesses in each category
will be invited to a shortlist interview(s), which will take place on Thursday 16th or Friday 17th May 2024.
The judges’ score will be based on the performance at interview(s), and added to the application score. An
applicant’s previous track record in the competition (whether successful or not) will have no relevance on
the outcome of the decision. All interview sessions will last for approximately 30 minutes.
Questions to the applicant will be relevant and appropriate and only relate to the judging criteria
contained on the judging score sheet. The judging panel will only sit on the day in question. Failure to
attend an interview will automatically result in the applicant being eliminated from that category –
interviews cannot be re-arranged under any circumstances.
Finalist Interviews – The BIBAs on Tour – round 3
The top eight scoring applicants from the interview stage (round 2) will be informed on 29th April 2024 and
invited to participate in the BIBAs on Tour. At this stage you are deemed a finalist of The BIBAs 2024.
You will receive full instructions of the BIBAs on Tour including times & dates when your business will be
visited by the judging panel(s). Judges will tour your premises, speak to your employees and senior
management. Dates for each visit can be viewed here.
Following the tour, judges will determine the overall winner which will be announced at the BIBAs
ceremony on Friday 20th September.