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Office of Special Events

Serving those planning special events in the City and promoting Philadelphia as an event destination.

Office of Special Events

Please be advised: The Office of Special Events (or Parks and Recreation) is not accepting applications for special events/public gatherings and the City is not enforcing such permitting requirements at this time. This status is subject to change.  Please continue to check our website for updates.

Services

Get a special event permit
How to hold a special event on City of Philadelphia property.

What we do

The Office of Special Events (OSE) makes sure that people who want to have a special event in the City have the right permits, licenses, and insurance. As the central point of contact for all special events, we help groups with equipment rentals, site mapping, road closures, and other details. OSE also prepares requests for proposals for large-scale special events on behalf of the City. Past efforts include the:

  • Philadelphia International Cycling Classic.
  • Made in America Music Festival.
  • NFL Draft.

Each year, we  process more than 1,400 special event applications for parades, festivals, concerts, film productions, and protests.

Because of our successful work, the City of Philadelphia was named a 2014, 2015, and 2016 World Festival & Event City by the International Festival & Events Association.

Connect

Address
1515 Arch St.
15th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Email ose@phila.gov
Phone: (215) 686-3488

Looking for more information?

You can find the Office of Special Events' full content on our separate website.

External link
Go to OSE

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