Europe’s largest festival of technology to showcase very best of tech in London

Throughout the week, attendees of Europe’s largest festival of tech will have the opportunity to attend a host of events including a concert with the award winning composer Hans Zimmer, the Drone Racing League (DRL) Season Finale and The Europas, which will welcome 1,000 European start-ups to the capital.

In anticipation of the festival, a short 50 second film has been created, spreading the message that London is Open to technology talent, investment and innovation from all over the world.

The film highlights that London is at the forefront of innovation, featuring scenes including a driverless ‘POD’, Londoners using VR headsets, Robots in the workplace and even The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, taking the first roboselfie of his Mayoralty. As London leads the way in the growth of smart cities, the film also illustrates how technology is already improving quality of urban life through smarter infrastructure and new approaches to health, fashion and transport.

The video is available to view here:

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan commented “London is Europe’s leading technology hub. Our talent, diversity, entrepreneurial spirit and global connections put us at the heart of digital technology. London Tech Week 2017 will be a fantastic opportunity to show that London is open to collaboration, innovation and ideas that could change the way that all Londoners live and experience the city.”

London is home to over 46,000 technology businesses, contributing over 240,000 jobs for the city’s economy¹. Since the EU referendum, London-based tech companies have received over £1billion in venture capital investment². Some of the world’s largest global tech companies have also pledged long term investment into London. In 2016, Apple announced a new £9bn project to open a London HQ in Battersea, Google announced a £1bn investment for a new London headquarters and in 2017, Snap Inc. also announced it will open an international hub in the capital

Zoe Osmond, Festival Director for London Tech Week said: “Investors and business leaders are always attracted to London because it’s home to some of the best visionary entrepreneurs and innovators in the world. But with other global cities increasingly looking to compete with London, it is important that we continue to shine a spotlight on London’s global tech offering. With a wide range of events to appeal to different audiences, London Tech Week will bring together investors, entrepreneurs, policy makers and business leaders to experience London’s strengths in innovation and creativity.”

Throughout London Tech Week, over 40,000 visitors will be able to hear from tech, business and political leaders including the Rt. Hon Gordon Brown, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO WPP and Nicola Mendelsohn, VP EMEA at Facebook – to name a few.

Some events to look out for during London Tech Week include:

• Festival Concert with Hans Zimmer: Hans Zimmer, world-renowned film composer, will play this exclusive London tour date during London Tech Week at SSE Wembley Arena. Academy Award-winner Hans has produced a number of classics, including the Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lion King, Gladiator, Inception and The Dark Knight. Buy tickets here.
• Drone Racing League Season Finale: The Allianz 2017 World Championship Race will be the UK’s first professional drone race and will take place at the iconic Alexandra Palace. The race will feature 8 of the top drone pilots from around the globe competing for the title of “World’s Greatest” on a one-of-a-kind course throughout the entire building. Buy tickets here.
• Rise of the Robots, organised by Worldpay: Daren Pickering from Worldpay’s Technology Innovation team will talk about the impact robots are having on fintech and commerce and how AI is shaping our future. Read more here.
• New Frontiers: The Technology Driving Extreme Exploration: Meet the mavericks of innovation who are inventing the technology that enables us to venture into unknown environments – from underwater to space. The event will feature the first-ever VR live-stream from the Aquarius Habitat, 10 fathoms below the ocean’s surface, where training takes place for the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations.

• The Tech Off: Soundclash 2017!: London Tech Week double teams with The Tech Off® to bring you The Tech Off: Soundclash 2017! A rogue’s gallery of 8 music-tech artists, entrepreneurs and innovators will go head to head in a battle of ideas. Each speaker gets 5 minutes to impress you, and the winner will take away The Soundclash Belt Of Music Tech Glory – a custom made wrestling belt – and an invite to return in 2018 to defend the title. Read more here.
• TechXLR8 – A festival of connected innovation: TechXLR8 showcases eight technology events, including the likes of 5G World, VR & AR World and AI & Machine Learning World. Speakers will include Hossein Moiin, CTO of Nokia, Brendan O’Reilly, CTO of O2, and Dave Coplin, Chief Envisioning Officer of Microsoft UK. Across the week TechXLR8 will allow visitors to interact with autonomous vehicles, robots and the latest VR and AR technologies. The event will also feature a headline speaker stage. Read more here.
• LeadersIn Tech Summit: Some of the biggest names in European tech will descend on London this summer. The LeadersIn Tech Summit will see the likes of Ronan Harris (MD Google UK & Ireland), Sir Martin Sorrell (CEO WPP), Kristo Kaarman (CEO TransferWise), and Nicholas Cary (Co-Founder Blockchain.com), discuss the opportunities and challenges facing London’s tech ecosystem. Read more here.
• Can you code like a 3 year old? Organised by EdTech company Primo Toys, this event will test your tech skills in an afternoon of fun programming challenges with Cubetto, the coding toy from Primo Toys. Cubetto is the friendly wooden robot that teaches computational thinking to girls and boys aged 3 and up. Read more here.
• Tesco T Jam: At this one-off speed networking event for start-ups, everyone will get five minutes to pitch before moving on to the next table and doing it all over again. If you’re looking to explore how you might want to collaborate with Tesco, this is the event for you. Read more here. 
   
• The Europas in association with London Tech Week: 1,000 of Europe’s key movers and shakers in tech be attending the conference and awards ceremony. The Europas are the top awards for Europe’s hottest tech start-ups. While it concentrates on the newest companies on the scene, it also brings together the mid and late stage technology start-ups, as well as leading investors and media. Read more here.