QN2027 ONLINE COMPETITION · ENTRIES OPEN
Put your work forward.
An online competition for PMU and tattoo artists across the UK and Ireland, judged anonymously against published criteria. Enter now and upload from January 2027. Your work does not need to be finished when you enter.
- £50 per category
- 20 categories
- 2 experience divisions
- Top 10 and live finals
Coming to Queen’s Night in October too? Event tickets are separate. See Early Bird tickets
WHY ENTER
Recognition that comes from the work itself.
Every entry is judged anonymously, so the work is the only thing in the room.
- Top 10 recognition. The ten highest-ranked artists in each category and division are recognised as QN 2027 Top 10.
- A route to the live final. In 15 categories, the top three in each division are offered a live finalist place.
- A real professional challenge. One complete case, before, fresh and healed, judged on published criteria.
- A year in the community. Monthly business mentoring and guest artist sessions from January to September 2027.
- A result that stays yours. Your online ranking stands whether or not you take up a live final place.
THE JOURNEY
From entry to October.
- EnterChoose your category and experience division. £50 each.
- Join the communityMonthly calls from January: business mentoring and a mid-month guest artist session.
- Develop and prepareFull category rules and scorecards are published before submissions open.
- SubmitUpload your case from January 2027 until your category’s closing date.
- Top 10The ten highest-ranked artists in each category and division receive QN 2027 Top 10 recognition.
- Live finalIn the 15 live final categories, the top three in each division are offered a live finalist place. Finalists have 14 days to confirm and pay the £125 live finalist fee. You can compete in one live final category. The five online-only categories have no live final and no finalist fee.
- Queen’s Night1 and 2 October 2027, Coventry.
- Recognition that lastsTop 10 placings and results are published, and your online ranking remains yours whatever happens in a live final.
Beyond October: the world final in Italy
Winners in the 15 live-final categories may be put forward to the world final in Italy in 2028. How winners are selected is still to be confirmed, because the Italian event runs a different set of categories, so not every winner may be put forward.
Entry to the Italian final is free for an artist we put forward, who then buys their own ticket for the Italian event. The world final is run by a separate organisation that sets its own prices and dates, and its 2028 prices and dates are not confirmed yet.
YOUR ENTRY
What your entry includes
- Your chosen category and experience division.
- Monthly QN community calls from January to September 2027: business mentoring with Jenna Leigh and co-host Ian Walker, and a mid-month guest artist session.
- The QN 2027 Welcome Pack and your invitation to the QN community.
- Upload access and instructions, sent before submissions open in January.
- Competition updates as the year goes on.
Event attendance is not included. A two-day event ticket, bought separately, covers Queen’s Night on 1 and 2 October 2027 and one QN Community Play Day, North or South in February or March, your choice, subject to availability. See event tickets
EXPERIENCE DIVISIONS
Two divisions, judged separately.
0–3 Years
Less than three years’ experience in the discipline you are entering.
3 Years+
Three years’ experience or more. If you have exactly three years, you enter 3 Years+.
Experience runs from your first qualification in that discipline to the day you buy your entry. A further course does not restart it. We may ask for evidence of your qualification.
CHOOSE YOUR CATEGORY
Pick a category, then your division.
£50 per category. Enter as many as you like. Each one is judged and ranked separately in your division.
Categories marked Live final category have a live final in October: if you are offered a finalist place, it costs £125. Categories marked Online only have no live final and no finalist fee.
Brows
Lips
Eyeliner
Tattooing
Medical and Specialist
SMP
SMP results take three or four sessions and show their real quality once healed, so the SMP categories are judged online, on healed work, where that can be seen properly. All three are online only and close on 31 August 2027.
FAIR JUDGING
Judged on the work, and nothing else.
- Anonymous. Entries carry no names, logos, watermarks, handles or branding.
- Published criteria. Each category has its own scorecard of ten criteria, scored out of 100, released before submissions open.
- Your own, unedited work. One complete case you performed yourself, shown before, immediately after and healed, with no filters, retouching or AI.
- Conflicts declared. Judges declare any conflict of interest. Eligibility, evidence and insurance are checked separately from the artistic score.
- Two divisions. Ranked separately, so newer artists are measured against their peers.
KEY DATES
When things happen.
- Now
- Entries open.
- January 2027
- Submissions open. Upload access and instructions are sent before then.
- 31 May 2027
- Closing date for the 15 live final categories.
- 31 August 2027
- Closing date for the five online-only categories: Medical Micropigmentation, Removal / Correction, SMP Hair Density, SMP Edge Up and SMP Natural.
- 1 and 2 October 2027
- Queen’s Night, Coventry.
Submissions close at 11:59pm UK time on the closing date. Healed photographs must be taken at least six weeks after the final session, so allow time.
THE RULES
The rules in brief
- Open to artists aged 18 or over who live, work or practise in, or are a national of, the UK or the Republic of Ireland.
- Enter as many categories as you like, at £50 each.
- You need professional insurance for the work and your client’s consent when you submit, not when you enter.
- Clients and models must be 18 or over.
- If you qualify for more than one live final, you compete in one.
£50 per category, including VAT. Cancel within 14 days of purchase for a full refund. In the 15 live-final categories, a live finalist place costs £125 and must be booked within 14 days of being offered. Read the full competition terms
QUEEN’S NIGHT 2027
Put your work forward.
£50 per category. Enter now, upload from January 2027, and join the artists who make Queen’s Night what it is.
Coming to Queen’s Night too? See Early Bird tickets