As Manchester Digital reaches its 25th year, it has today announced details of its new Manchester Digital Festival for 2027. The festival runs from February 8-12 across various venues in the city region, anchored by a dedicated festival hub for the first time.
The new festival is the evolution of the Digital Skills Festival, which Manchester Digital ran for more than a decade. Originally focused on early careers, talent pathways and diversity in the workforce, it became one of the most significant tech events in the North. Now Manchester Digital Festival 2027 broadens that remit.
"Greater Manchester's tech story has changed," said Katie Gallagher, Managing Director of Manchester Digital. "We're no longer making the case that this region matters - that case is made. Since the Digital Skills Festival was launched, the Manchester tech economy has doubled in size and is now valued at around £5 billion.
“This new festival reflects where the sector actually is: broader, more confident and increasingly setting the national conversation rather than contributing to it. 25 years on from when Manchester Digital started, we wanted to mark it with something that belongs to the whole sector, not just to us.
“We’re looking at what the tech sector in Manchester and the wider North West region could look like in another 25 years and what we collectively need to do as an industry to shape that future right now.”
The skills agenda remains central to the festival but the whole of Manchester’s tech sector is reflected in the new-look Manchester Digital Festival. Talent Day continues as the largest specialist tech careers fair in the North, while Future Innovators will once more bring school children from across Greater Manchester into the sector. But the week now spans the full breadth of the region's tech economy, including ecommerce, fintech, defence-tech, AI, quantum, leadership and investment.
Manchester Digital Festival will take place across venues throughout Manchester city centre, with support from venue partners Bruntwood Sci Tech and St John’s with Department, hosting daily keynotes alongside a programme of roundtables, conferences and drinks receptions throughout the week. A wider programme of fringe events will also take place across venues throughout the city region.
Five themed days give the week its structure and the programme will bring together leadership sessions, industry discussions and networking that reflect the strength and capabilities of the region’s tech sector, spanning ecommerce, defence, cyber and AI, alongside themes of diversity, social mobility and future talent. Daily keynotes from some of the UK’s most inspiring tech leaders and speakers will sit at the heart of the week, alongside roundtables, community-led events and a festival dinner bringing together senior leaders from across the ecosystem.
The festival is designed as a platform for the sector to shape and participate in, with sponsorship packages now available and speaker submissions opening shortly. Member businesses, communities and partners are encouraged to host fringe events, meet-ups and demo sessions across the city-region throughout the week. The event’s Ecosystem partner is Manchester: A UNESCO City of Learning.
More details at: manchesterdigitalfestival.uk.
