Wales Tech Week: From Digital 2015 to 2025

Digital Roots: 2015-2016

Let’s go back to June 2015. That’s when Digital 2015 started in Celtic Manor Resort for two days. It was the biggest digital festival Wales had ever seen for that time. More than 2000 people came together looking for a bit of inspiration and innovation.

The main topics were all about what was just starting to shape our digital world – data analytics, Internet of Things, cyber security and cloud computing. All speakers and exhibitors were eager to show off what was coming next in future.

Tech Nation started talking about South Wales as one of the fastest-growing tech clusters in the UK on basis. It meant that the region was really starting to make a name for itself in digital business.

Digital 2016 kept the Celtic Manor venue and drew about 2000+ delegates over two days. The National Software Academy and school partners ran hands‑on coding workshops for pupils.

Wales Tech Week Era

2017 – the festival decided it was time for a change of scenery and moved to Cardiff town. On September 18 and 19 Tramshed Tech and Tramshed Cardiff Bay became the new home for this event but the crowd stayed strong – about 2000+ delegates once again.

2018 – Digital Festival Cardiff returned with more than 2,000 delegates. It was staged at the Wales Millennium Centre on May 21 and 22. GoCompare sponsored the event. The GoFurther Academy was announced at Digital Festival Cardiff 2018.

In 2019 ICC Wales opened in Newport and became the home for major events and large‑scale conferences, including later editions of the digital festival ecosystem.

But everything changed when the pandemic hit. Suddenly, the calendar was up in the air and Wales Tech Week had to reinvent itself as a virtual festival in 2020. That online format continued through year 2021.

But by 2023, things were finally back to normal. Wales Tech Week returned to ICC Wales and thousands of people showed up with hundreds of speakers and exhibitors filling the halls.

Through it all, Technology Connected has been the backbone of Wales’ digital sector, bringing together companies, investors, and talent and making sure these events keep happening.

Now Wales Tech Week progressed to a multi‑day high‑profile international summit. The 2025 edition event was slated for November at ICC Wales with a three‑day program and broad industry participation.

Looking back you can really see how the festival has changed from a single venue in Wales back in 2015 to a national multi‑year cross‑sector platform. It’s just about the main event – Talent4Tech and the Wales Technology Awards are all part of the bigger picture.