The Santoña Town Council has published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria the announcement of the competition for the selection of the poster announcing the 2026 Carnival.
The submission period for posters will be from November 11 to November 30, 2025, both inclusive.
REGULATORY TERMS OF THE COMPETITION TO SELECT THE POSTER ANNOUNCING THE SANTOÑA CARNIVAL
FIRST: Organizing Entity
Hon. Santoña Town Council, Department of Festivals.
SECOND: Purpose
The purpose of this competition is to select the official poster for the Santoña Carnival 2026, which must be original, unique, and unpublished. Participation is encouraged under the following conditions:
The theme of the poster is free, but it must serve as a tourist attraction for the town and clearly be inspired by the Santoña Carnival, reflecting its spirit.
Posters that include elements characteristic of Santoña and that are conceived as a final graphic work will be positively valued. Other evaluation criteria will include: ability to attract attention, generate visibility, interest, and desire to attend the Santoña Carnival 2026.
Works that promote values and behaviors that strengthen democracy, freedom, coexistence, and solidarity will be valued. In accordance with current legislation, all works contrary to the principles recognized in the Constitution will be rejected.
THIRD: Type of Competition and Procedure
The competition is open to individuals over 18 years of age at the start of the registration period.
The work must not contain copies or plagiarized elements of other artists’ works. For the purposes of these terms, “plagiarism” is understood as the substantial copying of another person’s work and presenting it as one’s own, including copying fragments or ideas from an original work whose similarity can be verified, whether or not it is protected by copyright.
If plagiarism is detected during the jury selection or voting process, the work will be automatically disqualified.
The poster must be unpublished and must not have been submitted to any other competition or used as an image for any other event. The theme is freely chosen, provided it relates to one or more aspects of the “Maritime Carnival”.
FOURTH:
To avoid covering part of the artwork with institutional information (logos, etc.), the poster must include at its bottom a 10 cm solid-colored strip (in a color that best integrates with the design), containing no graphic or painted elements.
Works that do not include this reserved strip will be disqualified.
Original posters must be vertically oriented and measure 50 x 70 cm (including the 10 cm strip).
The Town Council reserves the right to determine the content of the 10 cm strip on the winning poster.
FIFTH:
The poster must prominently display the following text:
“Santoña”, “Carnival”, “2026”, and the celebration dates: “January 30 to February 28, 2026”, in the order chosen by the author.
Additionally, it must include, in a secondary position, the text: “Festival of National Tourist Interest”.
SIXTH:
The artistic technique used to create the poster is at the discretion of the author, provided it allows reproduction at full size through offset printing.
Three-dimensional works will be excluded, as they are incompatible with two-dimensional printing.
SEVENTH:
The use of artificial intelligence tools in the creation of the poster is strictly prohibited. Any poster found to have been created wholly or partially with AI will be automatically disqualified.
EIGHTH:
Posters must be submitted within twenty (20) calendar days from the publication of this announcement in the Official Gazette of Cantabria. Each participant may submit a maximum of two posters.
NINTH:
The works selected by the Jury will become the property of the Santoña Town Council, which will retain all rights over them. In the event that a third party claims total or partial rights over any submitted poster, the Santoña Town Council will bear no responsibility.
TENTH:
The prize for the winner will be €1,000 (subject to applicable taxes and withholdings).
ELEVENTH:
The Department of Festivals of the Santoña Town Council will appoint a Jury composed of members of the Festival Commission and other persons freely chosen by the Commission’s President.
The jury will first select the three most voted posters within the first five calendar days following the close of the submission period.
Afterward, the public may visit the Tourism Office (located on Santander Street) to cast their vote for one of the three finalists. Voting will be open during the five working days following the first selection, and only one vote per person will be allowed.
On the next working day, the Festival Commission will meet to count the votes and officially announce the winning poster.
The jury’s decisions are final. The Secretary will record the minutes of the meetings and the decisions made.
TWELFTH:
Posters must be delivered to the Registry Office of the Santoña Town Council, either in person or by postal mail, addressed to:
“Santoña Town Council. Attn.: Municipal Registry (Carnival Poster Competition 2026)”.
Posters must be anonymous (unsigned) and preferably mounted on rigid backing (foam board).
The author’s details—name, surname, address, phone number, email, and a description of the poster—must be included in a sealed envelope attached to the back of the poster. Both the poster and envelope must be properly wrapped together.
THIRTEENTH:
Authors may not reveal their identity by any means (analog, digital, or social media). Any violation of anonymity will result in automatic disqualification following a review by the Department of Festivals.
FOURTEENTH:
The authors of the three posters selected by the jury must submit a JPG file of their work at 300 dpi resolution, CMYK color mode, and full size, within two days after being notified of their selection.
If the poster was submitted in physical format, only the winner will be required to provide a suitable digital file for offset printing.
FIFTEENTH:
Participation implies the participant’s consent for the Santoña Town Council to use their name, surname, and images of their posters for communications and exhibitions related to the competition.
The Council also reserves the right to use them for promotional purposes, including publication on its website and social media.
SIXTEENTH: Personal Data Protection
In accordance with Organic Law 15/1999 of December 13, on the Protection of Personal Data, the personal data voluntarily provided by participants will be used solely for the purpose of this competition and will not be stored in any database for commercial purposes.
SEVENTEENTH:
Participation in this competition implies full acceptance of these terms and the jury’s decision. Any issues arising in the interpretation or application of these terms will be resolved by the Department of Festivals of the Santoña Town Council.