This is the 3rd edition of the Europe Jazz Network Award for Adventurous Programming in European Music. In 2013, it was awarded to the Bimhuis, a concert hall dedicated to jazz in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and in 2012 it was won by the Twelve Points Festival, in Dublin, Ireland.

According to the panel of judges for the Award, chaired by Ros Rigby, current Vice-President of the Association and Director of Programming at the cultural venue Sage Gateshead in the UK, the primary reasons the jury took into account in its decision to award the prize to the Jazz em Agosto Festival were:

The festival has a strong identity, developed over the course of three decades.

A fantastic and unique open air venue in the gardens of the Gulbenkian Foundation- what a lovely place to enjoy good music!

The Europe Jazz Network (EJN) is an association that brings together all kinds of actors in the field of jazz, including producers, programmers, festivals, clubs and organizations whose mission is to promote the identity and diversity of jazz in Europe, making the vision of this music as an educational and cultural force increasingly powerful.

Its members come from 24 European countries, and include the Fundação Casa da Música (Portugal), Bimhuis and North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), London Jazz Festival (UK), Gent Jazz Festival (Belgium), Copenhagen Jazz Festival (Denmark), Tampere Jazz Happening (Finland), Afijma – Association des Festivals et Musiques Innovants en Jazz Actuelles (France) and Stadtgarten Jazzhaus in Cologne (Germany).

The award will be officially presented to the Artistic Director of Jazz em Agosto, Rui Neves, at a ceremony which will take place on 26 April, during the jazzahead! festival in Bremen, Germany.