Brazen Festival

Brazen takes over various venues across Bristol from 9 to 13 November, five days of tech, creativity and culture spread across the city. It's the reimagined next chapter of the Bristol Technology Festival, which most recently went by BTF+. Over the last six years that grew from a focused tech gathering into a city-wide movement, and Brazen is the new name for it. It's run by techSPARK on a not-for-profit basis, with each edition building on the last and any surplus reinvested back into the festival.

The programme is split into four strands. The Summit brings together keynotes and panels; Community covers workshops, talks and socials; Showcase is for hands-on technology demonstrations; and Live features immersive experiences, music and comedy, with the Live Track created by Yuup. Each day has its own focus, from AI and ethical tech to the collision of creativity and technology, so you can pick the days that actually interest you rather than committing to the whole thing.

It's aimed at founders, investors, technologists, creatives and community members, and it's not just a small local affair. The 2025 edition drew more than 6,300 attendees across 100+ events, reached 4.6 million people and delivered £883,000 in social value. Over the years the festival has worked with the likes of Accenture, Amazon Web Services, Barclays, Deloitte, Dyson, EY, Meta, Sony and NatWest.

As for the cost, it's largely free. The community and showcase events are mostly free to attend, and while there are ticketed events, you can get Summit passes by the day or for the full week. It runs from 9 to 13 November across various venues in Bristol.