Image: Tilly Lockey delivers an inspirational moment at last year’s Festival
From 19th to 21st May – Bath Digital Festival returns for three days of ideas, knowledge sharing and conversation, bringing together founders, creatives, technologists and curious minds from across the South West. Curated by techSPARK, the festival has built a reputation for doing things a little differently. Rather than following the traditional conference formula of keynote speeches and a packed agenda, Bath Digital Festival is designed as a platform where ideas collide and conversations unfold naturally.
The 2026 edition centres on a single prompt: What If?
What if we challenged the assumptions that shape our industries? What if new collaborations unlocked ideas no one had thought of yet? And what if the most interesting innovations come from the unexpected connections between people who rarely meet? Those questions will play out across the rest of the day’s programme, with keynotes, panel discussions, workshops and fringe events exploring emerging technologies, creative applications and the real experiences of people building new businesses and ideas.
Each day begins with a breakfast, where morning tech talks, networking and coffee set the tone for the day ahead. These sessions bring innovators and industry leaders together to share practical insights and spark new conversations. The breakfast is followed by the daily interactive showcase, where companies demonstrate new products, test ideas and gather real feedback from the community. It is a chance to see emerging technology up close and meet the people building it.
Part of the magic of Bath Digital Festival lies in the mix of people it attracts. Startup founders share space with corporate innovators. Students exchange ideas with experienced industry leaders. Creative technologists and engineers find common ground in new experiments and prototypes. The result is an atmosphere that feels less like a formal event and more like an open exchange of ideas.
Search techspark.co/bdf to get involved