In the lead-up to UK Tech Week 2027, we’re shining a spotlight on the partners helping to shape and champion the UK’s tech ecosystem. Through this series, you’ll hear directly from our partners about who they are, what they’re building, and why collaboration across the nation matters more than ever.
In this feature, we speak to Brazen about its evolution from Bristol Technology Festival, why technology, creativity and culture belong together, and why showcasing the South West’s innovation ecosystem is so important during UK Tech Week.
What began as a focused technology festival has grown year after year into something much bigger; a city-wide movement that brings together founders, creatives, investors, policymakers, researchers, artists and communities from across the South West and beyond.
In 2025, we evolved the festival into BTF+, recognising that some of the most exciting innovation happens at the intersection of technology, creativity and culture. That shift allowed us to broaden the programme, bring in new audiences and create more opportunities for collaboration across sectors.
Brazen is the next step in that evolution. The new name reflects the confidence, ambition and boldness of the community we’re building. It’s about being courageous enough to challenge convention, experiment with new ideas and create unexpected connections. The rebrand also signals our ambition to move from a successful regional festival to a nationally recognised platform that showcases the South West’s innovation ecosystem to the rest of the UK and the world.
What makes Brazen different is that it’s not a conference in a convention centre. Bristol itself becomes the venue. The festival takes place across the city’s institutions, neighbourhoods, creative spaces and grassroots communities, creating opportunities for people who might never normally meet to collide, collaborate and create something new.
At its heart, Brazen exists to tell a bigger story about Bristol and the South West: a region where technology, creativity and culture don’t sit in separate silos but come together to drive innovation, economic growth and social impact. It’s a not-for-profit platform built for the long term, with each edition helping strengthen the ecosystem and create opportunities for the next generation of innovators.
We’d absolutely highlight MyWorld, which is doing incredible work at the intersection of technology and the creative industries, bringing together researchers, businesses and creatives to shape the future of media, entertainment and immersive technologies.
We’d also spotlight Bristol Creative Industries. While it’s not strictly a tech organisation, it plays a vital role in connecting the region’s creative, digital and innovation communities. As Brazen champions, technology and creativity are deeply interconnected, and some of the most exciting innovation happens where the two come together.
Brazen and UK Tech Week share a common goal: celebrating and connecting innovation ecosystems across the UK. For too long, conversations about technology have been concentrated in a handful of places, but innovation is happening in every region.
Being part of UK Tech Week gives us the opportunity to showcase the South West’s strengths on a national stage while also learning from and collaborating with other regions. It helps connect founders, investors, creatives, researchers and policymakers across the country, creating opportunities that wouldn’t happen if we all stayed within our local networks.
For Brazen specifically, it’s an opportunity to tell a bigger story about Bristol and the South West: a region where technology, creativity and culture intersect, and where some of the UK’s most exciting innovation is taking place. That’s exactly the kind of regional strength UK Tech Week exists to celebrate.
