2 April 2025
The FREE to enter Cemetery of the Year Awards (CYA) competition is once again available online until 30 June 2025, and open to any burial authority (cemetery or churchyard) within the UK.
The three categories of cemeteries in this year’s competition are:
A. Large burial grounds above 10,000 graves
B. Small/medium burial grounds up to 10,000 graves
C. Parish, town and community councils
We will once again be using a photographic element to the competition to allow a subjective section to the scoring process (this will only involve the CYA finalists during adjudication). Extra marks will be awarded for the maintenance and appeal of the cemeteries and used to determine the Gold and Silver places in their category – creating another dimension to the competition.
The winner will receive a CYA Gold Award certificate and a CYA press release that can be used to promote your award in your local newspaper, website and social media. Silver Awards certificates will be presented to the runners-up along with a CYA press release to promote your award.
Note: The competition will also include the following extra two categories in this year’s competition.
D. The Best New CYA Entrant Award: For the highest scoring new entry in each category in CYA 2025.
E. The British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons (BRAMM) Bereaved Community Award: £1,000 prize to be won!
If your cemetery or burial ground has completed any local initiative which has helped the bereaved in any way within the last five years you are eligible to enter for this award. We know there are many enterprising cemeteries that go the extra mile to help bereaved families, for example: this may be offering a flower service or café within the cemetery or providing memorials for stillborn children. To enter this category, please write a short account (no more than 250 words) and explain your local initiative. You can also submit up to three photographs to support your entry.
Unfortunately, previous Gold and Silver winners of this Award are unable to submit the same entries however you may submit any new initiatives you are involved with.
The winner of the BRAMM Bereaved Community Award will receive a £1,000 prize along with a BRAMM/CYA Gold Award Certificate and a BRAMM/CYA press release that can be used to promote your award in your local newspaper, website and social media. Silver Award certificates will be presented to the runners-up along with a BRAMM/CYA press release to promote your award.
To enter this year’s competition please go to: www.cemeteryoftheyear.org.uk. The competition closes at 12 midnight on 30 June 2025.
The CYA competition is designed not only to improve standards within burial grounds but also to encourage compliance with legislation and support best practice with information from leading burial authority organisations. The 2025 awards has been sponsored by BRAMM and supported and endorsed by the Memorial Awareness Board (MAB), Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM), The Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (FBCA), SLCC, BRAMM.
Good luck!
CYA 2025 rules:
- Entry to the competition is restricted to one entry per cemetery
- The competition is open to any burial authority (cemetery or churchyard) within the UK
- The top scores in each category will be adjudicated after the competition closing date using the contact details on the entry form
- The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into
- The competition will run from March 31 until midnight on June 30 2025
- The finalists will be invited to the ICCM Conference in September 2025 to receive their prizes
CYA Winners from last year’s competition:
The Winner of the Gold BRAMM Memorial Design of the Year Award 2024 – Walsh Memorials:
