It's also slightly coincidental that not all the shortlisters actually fork out 1800 Europes for a table, yet 99% of the time the winner is present on the night. Essentially, if you make it to the shortlist and you REALLY want the award, you must purchase a table at the event. Their PR people will ensure you do pay for your award by hounding you on the phone. No payment for dinner table... no award (except in a few occasions in the awards history)
Short answer - yes. It is a paid for award - arbitrary to a point and with agenda to a point.