One of the UK’s most influential city-led tech events has today announced its next chapter, relaunching in 2026 as Brazen: a reimagined festival of technology, creativity and culture designed to become a must-attend fixture on the national tech calendar.

Formerly known as Bristol Technology Festival and most recently BTF+, the event, of which Bristol Creative Industries is a founding partner, has evolved rapidly over the past six years, growing from a focused tech gathering into a city-wide movement that brings together founders, creatives, investors, policymakers and communities. Now, as Brazen, the festival is setting its sights firmly on the national and international stage.

Taking place across Bristol over five days in late 2026, Brazen will once again use the city itself as its venue, spanning institutions, neighbourhoods and grassroots spaces, bringing together big ideas, practical innovation and cultural moments in a single, interconnected programme.

From Bristol to the world

Inspired by global festivals such as SXSW but rooted in the distinctive character of the South West, Brazen has been created to showcase Bristol as a place to build, experiment and collaborate, while forging meaningful connections between people and sectors that don’t usually share the same space.

Delivered on a not-for-profit basis, Brazen is designed as a long-term platform rather than a one-off event. Each edition will build on the last, with surplus reinvested into growing the festival’s reach, quality and relevance, strengthening Bristol’s position as one of the UK’s most dynamic centres for innovation and creativity.

In its most recent edition, the festival delivered:

• 6,300+ attendees
• 100+ events hosted
• 4.6 million reach
• £883,000 in total social value

Figures that underline both its scale and its growing national impact.

As part of its next chapter, Brazen has confirmed Bristol Business Improvement District (BID) as a strategic partner for the next three years, cementing the festival’s role in supporting a thriving, inclusive and economically vibrant city centre.

Bristol BID is a business-led partnership, working to make the city centre safer, greener, cleaner and more welcoming. The BID invests directly in initiatives that support local businesses, attract visitors and strengthen the city’s cultural and commercial life.

Steve Bluff, COO at Bristol BID, said:

“Bristol BID is excited to be a lead partner for Brazen, where technology, creativity and culture will collide across five days later in 2026. The festival will unlock new opportunities for Bristol’s businesses, strengthen pride and confidence in the city, and showcase Bristol and the wider region as one of the UK’s most exciting hubs for innovation and creativity. Brazen will bring the city to life with opportunities that we’re excited for our business community to be part of.”

Four tracks. One shared purpose.

Brazen’s programme is built around four interconnected tracks, designed to reach different audiences while maintaining a strong, coherent festival identity:

• Summit – large-scale talks, debates and conversations featuring local, national and international voices, tackling the ideas shaping technology, creativity and society
• Community – workshops, meetups and grassroots activity hosted across the city, surfacing lived experience and local talent
• Showcase – demonstrations, prototypes and applied innovation, showing how new technologies and creative practices are being used in the real world
• Live – performances, immersive experiences and cultural moments that bring people together through shared experience

Across the week, each day will explore a different theme, from leadership and AI to clean tech, scale-up growth and creative technology, giving the festival a clear narrative arc while allowing organisations and communities to engage in ways that suit them.

A festival built on collaboration

Brazen has previously worked with organisations including Accenture, Amazon Web Services, Barclays, Deloitte, Dyson, EY, Meta, Sony, NatWest, and multiple universities and public bodies, as well as hundreds of regional businesses, startups, artists and community groups.

Crucially, there is no single model of involvement. From hosting events and shaping programme themes to showcasing innovation or supporting international delegations, Brazen is built around long-term value and collaboration, not short-term visibility.

A new name, the same energy – and bigger ambition

At its heart, Brazen is about people: the conversations that spark ideas, the collisions that create opportunity, and the community that keeps showing up. With a renewed identity and an expanded ambition, the festival is inviting organisations, partners and audiences from across the UK and beyond to help shape what comes next.

Ben Shorrock, CEO of techSPARK, commented:

“Brazen is the next evolution of everything Bristol Technology Festival and BTF+ set out to be. We’ve seen first-hand the power of bringing technology, creativity and culture into the same space, and Brazen gives us the confidence, scale and ambition to take that story beyond the city.

“This is about building a festival that people plan their year around, one that puts community first, but speaks to a national and international audience.”

Further announcements on programming, speakers and tickets will be made later this year.

For more information or to get involved, visit www.techspark.co/brazen/

About Bristol Creative Industries

Bristol Creative Industries is the membership network that supports the region's creative sector to learn, grow and connect, driven by the common belief that we can achieve more collectively than alone.