Leeds has once again confirmed its place at the heart of the UK’s digital economy, with the 2025 Leeds Digital Festival attracting around 15,000 people to more than 230 events across the city and online.
From September 22 to October 3, the tenth edition of the festival brought together businesses, innovators and communities in what organisers described as a record-breaking celebration of collaboration, creativity and technology. Organisers say many of this year’s events were fully booked even before the festival began, underlining the appetite across the region to connect, learn and be inspired.
Telecoms Minister, Liz Lloyd CBE, said: “Leeds Digital Festival has once again shown the incredible strength of our regional tech ecosystems – exactly what we need to drive growth and opportunity across the whole of the UK.
“Government is committed to ensuring everyone, everywhere, can benefit from the opportunities technology brings. That’s why we recently launched targeted support to local tech ecosystems, working alongside tech communities to unlock their full potential.”
Christina Geary, Senior Vice President Consulting Services and Business Unit lead for Leeds at CGI, one of the festival’s premier sponsors, added: “Leeds Digital Festival is a showcase of everything that makes this region’s digital sector so vibrant. The energy, the ideas, and the collaboration on display have been remarkable. CGI is proud to play a part in supporting a platform that enables people to share knowledge, explore opportunities, and build the relationships that will shape the future of technology in Yorkshire and beyond.”
Over the two weeks, topics ranged from FinTech and AI to cyber-security, sustainability and digital creativity. Highlights included the Northern FinTech Summit, the Leeds Digital Careers Fair at the First Direct Arena, and sessions exploring how artificial intelligence can be deployed in ways that are both efficient and empathetic.
Festival Director, Stuart Clarke MBE, said: “The tenth anniversary has been momentous for Leeds Digital Festival. The appetite for the programme has been phenomenal, not just in terms of numbers, but in the diversity of subjects, the quality of contributors, and the scale of collaboration. Leeds has once again shown what it can achieve when the digital community comes together.”
As Stuart Clarke moves into the role of Chair and Deb Hetherington prepares to take over as Festival Director in 2026, organisers say the future is bright. With its open-platform model and free-to-attend ethos, Leeds Digital Festival has become the largest event of its kind outside London, and 2025 has set a new benchmark for what the city’s digital community can achieve together.