The Ideas Shaping Leeds: Inside Leeds Digital Festival 2026
Leeds
Leeds Digital Festival 2026 brings 200+ tech events to the city from 21 September to 2 October. From AI and data to startups, FinTech, HealthTech and digital marketing, the festival is bringing people from across Leeds' digital community together.
The 2026 programme features 200+ free events across the city, covering topics including AI, data, software, cyber security, FinTech, HealthTech and more.
Across two weeks, organisations, experts and individuals from Leeds’ digital community come together to share ideas, make connections and explore what’s next.
With no single venue or organiser, LDF is an open platform where businesses and individuals can create events and contribute to the wider programme.
This year, Avenue HQ East Parade is proud to be part of it, hosting a number of events across the festival.
What's happening across Leeds?
The 2026 programme covers a lot of ground.
AI and machine learning currently account for a significant part of the programme, alongside data, coding and software development, cyber security, marketing and PR, business support, careers and education, Fin-tech, Health-tech and investing. (Leeds Digital Fest)
For businesses, that means the festival can be a chance to learn about what's changing in their industry.
For founders, it can mean meeting someone who has already been through the next stage of growth.
For people working in tech, it can be a chance to share what they're working on.
And for anyone interested in where Leeds is heading, it offers a look at the ideas and conversations shaping the city.
Big ideas are better when there's somewhere to bring people together.
Leeds Digital Festival at Avenue HQ East Parade
Avenue HQ is a Bronze Sponsor of Leeds Digital Festival 2026, supporting a festival built around the Leeds tech and digital community.
But the connection goes beyond sponsorship.
Avenue HQ East Parade is also hosting a number of LDF26 events throughout the festival.
Why Leeds?
There is a reason so many different conversations can sit under the same festival.
Leeds brings together businesses, founders, universities, investors, creatives and technology teams across a wide range of industries.
That mix matters.
A conversation about AI doesn't stay inside the tech industry. It reaches finance, healthcare, retail, marketing, education and the way businesses work.
A startup looking for investment can meet someone from a completely different part of the business community.
And a conversation that starts at an event can continue long after everyone leaves the room.
That's the value of a digital community.
The best digital conversations don't always happen online
For an industry built around technology, there's something interesting about how much of Leeds Digital Festival happens in person.
Because some things are difficult to replicate on a screen.
The conversation before an event starts.
The question after a panel.
A quick introduction over coffee.
Finding someone working on a similar problem.
Meeting a potential customer, partner or collaborator.
These moments can be small, but they're often why people come to events in the first place.
That's also where a workspace can become more than somewhere to work.
At Avenue HQ East Parade, members work alongside businesses and founders while events bring new people into the building. The space includes offices, coworking, meeting rooms, event spaces and a podcast studio, creating different places for people to work and meet. (Avenue HQ)
East Parade is built for events
Located at 10-12 East Parade in Leeds city centre, Avenue HQ sits inside a Grade II listed building, close to Leeds Station. The building includes event spaces, meeting rooms, a podcast studio, courtyard and rooftop bar. (Avenue HQ)
The event spaces can accommodate up to 100 people, with AV and IT equipment, flexible layouts, breakout areas and on-site support. (Avenue HQ)
That makes East Parade a useful setting for the kinds of events that form part of Leeds' business community:
Panels. Workshops. Meetups. Networking. Launches. Talks.
When Leeds Digital Festival ends, the conversations continue
Leeds Digital Festival runs for two weeks.
The community doesn't.
The businesses taking part continue to build. Founders continue to grow their companies. Teams keep working on new ideas. People continue to meet, share knowledge and find ways to work together.
That is why Avenue HQ's connection with Leeds Digital Festival makes sense beyond the September programme.
The festival creates a moment. The digital community keeps it going.
And East Parade is one of the places where that community can meet throughout the year.
Whether it's a tech meetup, a founder session, a workshop, a networking event or a business gathering, the right space can give people somewhere to start the conversation.
Planning an event in Leeds?
If you're looking for an event space in Leeds, Avenue HQ East Parade offers spaces for up to 100 people, with meeting rooms, AV, breakout areas and on-site support.
Bring your next event to East Parade.