Grants / Department of State / U.S. Mission to United Arab Emirates

PDS-UAE-03-FY2026: Freedom 250 Great American State Fair Initiative – Abu Dhabi

Closed Closed August 10, 2026 Opportunity PDS-UAE-03-FY2026 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of U.S. Mission to United Arab Emirates notices from 2026.

• Award ceiling$1.0 million
• Award floor$750,000
• Total funding$1.0 million
• Expected awards1
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

We encourage applications from the following entities registered in the United States or the United Arab Emirates, with at least two years of demonstrated experience in large-scale event management, cultural programming, vendor coordination, and public engagement. (Proposals must include documentation demonstrating the applying organization's experience.)• Not-for-profit organizations, including non-governmental organizations;• Public and private educational institutions;• Non-profit or governmental educational institutions;

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Public Diplomacy Programs awards averaged $26,570; this notice allows up to $1.0 million per award.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The U.S. Embassy Abu Dhabi, Public Diplomacy Section, announces an open competition to develop and implement the programmatic elements of a three-day Freedom 250 Great American State Fair. The Fair will showcase authentic American heartland culture, creativity, entrepreneurship, entertainment, culinary traditions, and music through immersive public programming designed for UAE audiences. Proposals should showcase American excellence, advance American commercial interests, enhance American brand visibility through public engagement, American vendor participation, strategic partnerships, and cultural programming, and strengthen the U.S.-UAE bilateral relationship. If selected, the grantee would deliver a comprehensive American State Fair with multiple touchpoints, including but not limited to interactive gaming attractions, themed parades, entertainment showcases, curated exhibitions, family-centric experiences, and an expansive culinary and retail village concept featuring American food brands and artisan vendors, all of which will collectively create an immersive and authentic American state fair experience. The selected grantee will be responsible for the design, curation, and implementation of the Freedom 250 Great American State Fair programming and participant experience. The grantee will be expected to coordinate closely with our UAE Local Partner Entity and their contractors, which will provide venue infrastructure and operational support. (Those services are subject to grantee negotiation with the UAE Local Entity and PDS involvement and may include but are not limited to the following: venue construction and dismantling, staging and physical infrastructure, ticketing operations, site setup and cleanup, utilities, waste management, security plans and coordination, public facilities, and other event logistics.) Accordingly, applicants for this Notice of Funding Opportunity should focus their proposals on programming, participant engagement, U.S. vendor recruitment and management, American cultural and commercial activations, and overall authentic event experience rather than venue operations and infrastructure. A detailed division of responsibilities will be provided to successful applicants and may be further refined in coordination with the Public Diplomacy Section and the UAE Local Entity. This initiative directly supports U.S.

Category: Other.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.