SUBMIT A PROJECT, PERSON OR TECHNOLOGY FOR A TEA THEA AWARD

​SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THE 2023-2024 TEA THEA AWARDS JUDGING CYCLE (30TH ANNUAL). 
The prestigious Thea Awards of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) celebrate excellence in the creation of compelling places and experiences. This page provides support for the 2023-2024 judging cycle.
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The TEA Thea Awards recognize excellence and innovation in the themed entertainment and international visitor attractions industry. Each year hundreds of submissions are received and considered by the TEA Thea Awards Committee for outstanding destination attractions, breakthrough technology, event spectaculars, cultural attractions or guest experiences, and individuals who have made their mark through a lifetime of distinguished achievements.

ELIGIBILITY: 
For consideration in the 30th annual judging cycle, the project must have opened or the event taken place between 
​July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2023

SUBMISSIONS PERIOD: May 1, 2023 - July 7, 2023

• 30th Annual Thea Awards Recipients will be announced in November 2023 at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando
• Awards will be formally presented in March 2024 at the 30th Annual Thea Awards Gala taking place at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA
• Tips for Thea Submissions
• Thea Rules & Judging Criteria
• Additional information: email TheaAwards@TEAConnect.org or telephone TEA headquarters at +1 818 843-8497

​Background
To celebrate excellence in the creation of outstanding visitor experiences, attractions, exhibits and places worldwide, the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) created the Thea Awards in 1994. These prestigious honors focus international attention on innovation within the Themed Entertainment industry.

The Thea Awards honor the vision and dedication of the project owner while bestowing and recording credits for the work of the designers, technicians, vendors and suppliers who realize the project.

​History
The Thea Awards were created by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) in 1994 to help realize a key mission of the association: bringing recognition to achievement, talent and personal excellence within the themed entertainment industry. TEA’s Thea Awards have become internationally recognized as a symbol of excellence.

The annual awards cycle is as follows: After the nomination period closes in July, the Thea Awards Nominating Committee spends several weeks reviewing the submissions, and then recommends a slate of approximately 15-18 recipients that are subject to final approval by the TEA International Board of Directors. Those recipients are officially announced by TEA in November, and the awards are formally presented at the Thea Awards Gala held in Los Angeles the following spring (usually in April), and the cycle begins again.
To receive a Thea Award, the owner of the achievement must publish credits. In this way, the Thea Awards established the very first standards and requirements for credits in our industry.

The late Harrison "Buzz" Price was the first Thea Award recipient. Buzz was a pioneer in the field of entertainment feasibility.

​Volunteers from within the TEA membership serve terms on the Thea Awards Nominating Committee. They are joined by all past recipients of the The Buzz Price Thea Award for a Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements, who automatically become lifetime members of the Committee.
The name of the award is a play on three words: the first is "Thea," the Greek goddess from whom all light emanates. Thea was the mother of Helios (the sun), Eos (the dawn), and Selene (the moon). The second key word is "Theater," a word derived from the goddess Thea. The third word, of course, is TEA, for the Association.

Each year the Committee considers hundreds of nominations, applying the highest standards of excellence and achievement with respect to the arts and sciences of themed entertainment.