Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival has been the only festival in Poland and one of five in Europe to receive the prestigious EFFE Award. 

EFFE – Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe – is the European Festivals Association’s mark of recognition for Europe’s most exciting arts festivals. The Award Ceremony took place on 18 September 2017 in BOZAR, Brussels.

EFFE is the scheme for the recognition of Europe’s remarkable festivals selected by the European Festivals Association with the support of the European Commission and European Parliament.
An International Jury presided over by Sir Jonathan Mills, composer and former Director of the Edinburgh International Festival, selected 6 of the most trend-setting European festivals from a pool of 715 which were recognised with the EFFE Label in May. The label is eligible to festivals in 39 countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme.

The EFFE Award winners (in alphabetical order) are:
1. Altofest International Contemporary Live Arts Festival, Italy
2. European Film Festival Palic, Serbia
3. FMM Sines – Festival Músicas do Mundo, Portugal
4. Gdansk Shakespeare Festival, Poland
5. Utrecht Early Music Festival, Netherlands

A special Award for its continued reinvention of the arts and festival sector is given to the Edinburgh International Festival, UK.

From the many festivals given the EFFE label, 26 Laureates were announced in July as candidates for the Award. They ranged geographically from the Azores to Kiev, from Cyprus to Estonia and in scope from early music to digital arts. The International Jury’s decision was built on national experts’ advice on applicant festivals from world famous fixtures in the cultural calendar to eclectic events known only to a few.