Birmingham Tech Week eyes biggest international turnout yet
Birmingham Tech Week will return this October with its strongest international presence to date, following the launch of the inaugural Beijing–Birmingham Tech Week in June and growing global interest in the West Midlands as a destination for technology investment and innovation.
In 2025, the festival welcomed delegates from 16 countries, including China, India, Canada and South Korea, with organisers expecting even greater international participation in 2026.
This year’s programme has been shaped by the recently launched West Midlands Tech Review, which states that the region’s £15.8 billion digital economy can become the UK’s leading test bed for frontier technologies by increasing AI adoption, strengthening cyber resilience and investing in future talent.
The theme for Birmingham Tech Week 2026 is ‘Fast Forward’, which explores how organisations can respond to an era in which technological innovation is outpacing traditional business models and established ways of working.
Taking place from 19th–23rd October, the festival will host more than 35 events across the ICC, The Studio, Birmingham Rep and Eastside Rooms, with organisers expecting to welcome thousands of delegates from the UK and overseas.
Confirmed speakers already include West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker, Rigby Group Co-CEO Steve Rigby, and Alan Turing Institute researcher and TEDx speaker Lara Jeetley, with further speakers to be announced over the coming months.
Throughout the week, the programme will explore how increased technology adoption can help businesses and public services move emerging technologies from research into real-world deployment.
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Flagship events include the AI Symposium, Cyberverse, Future Tech Talent, Tech For All, the Scale Up Summit and the Engineering & Developer (EngDev) Conference, alongside a wider programme of workshops, networking events and panel discussions covering manufacturing, healthcare, mobility, financial services and the public sector. The festival will open with the inaugural Leadership Breakfast and conclude with the Tech Awards 2026.
Andy Hague, CEO of TechWM, said: “As a region where tech scaleups now generate more than £10.3 billion in annual turnover, the West Midlands has an opportunity to lead the UK’s next chapter of technology growth, especially when businesses, universities, investors and the government pull in the same direction.”
“Birmingham Tech Week is about bringing those partners together to increase technology adoption, helping organisations translate innovation into productivity, investment and real economic impact.”
“As new technologies reshape every sector, the conversations taking place this October will help define how our region responds, collaborates and grows in the years ahead.”
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