Europe is full of tech and startup events — including, of course, the annual Sifted Summit.
But unless you want to make attending events a full-time job, there’s no way to go to them all.
That’s where Sifted comes in: our team of reporters has tried and tested Europe’s top tech gatherings, so you can focus on the ones most relevant to you.
Here are the 20+ events we’re (currently) planning to attend this year.
4YFN, Barcelona
2026 dates: 2-5 March
4YFN (Four Years From Now) is a global startup event held alongside Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which brings together founders and investors from over 100 countries.
In previous years, the event might have been a way for Spain’s startups to catch the attention of their peers in Europe. But in 2026 a lot more eyeballs will be on Spanish tech, which popped off in 2025, driven by a wave of AI-native startups raising big.
2026 speakers: Eynat Guez of Papaya Global, Enrique Lizaso of Multiverse Computing, Emma Burrows of Portia AI, Hendrik Brandis of Earlybird
Who you might spot there: Tom Nugent
TechChill, Riga
2026 dates: 25-27 March
TechChill is a tech and startup conference held in the Baltics. It’s known for its community-driven, informal vibe with networking traditions like sauna meetups (we all love them) and karaoke alongside panels and pitches, as well as for showcasing Baltic startups.
2026 speakers: Chris Cunningham, cofounder at ClickUp, Ramona Miglāne, partner at Sorainen and Chris Woods, VP of operations at Prelude.
Who you might spot there: Anne Sraders
Innovate Finance Global Summit, London
2026 dates: 21 April
Innovate Finance Global Summit, or IFGS, is an annual one-day fintech conference held in the historic Grade-1 listed Guildhall in London. Organised by the industry group Innovate Finance, it gathers representatives from startups, investors and policymakers across the fintech ecosystem and records more than 1,500 on-site attendees.
2025 speakers: Rachel Reeves, UK finance minister, Philip Belamant, CEO at Zilch, Francesco Simoneschi, CEO at TrueLayer
Who you might spot there: Tom Matsuda
Latitude59, Tallinn
2026 dates: 21–22 May
Latitude59 is Estonia’s flagship startup and tech conference that brings together founders, investors and policymakers from across Europe and beyond. With Russia on its borders, last year the conference focused a lot on defence tech. Darlings of Estonian tech were also seen wandering the conference halls, including Kaarel Kotkas, CEO of ID verification platform Veriff, and Markus Villig, the billionaire entrepreneur behind mobility giant Bolt.
2026 speakers: Gabriel Vasquez, partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Anna Handschuch, founder of think tank Future Affairs, Alex Enache, chief AI officer at Northstar
Who you might spot there: Anne Sraders
Dublin Tech Week, Dublin
2026 dates: 22-29 May
Dublin Tech Week is a city-wide, decentralised summit, with hundreds of free or low-cost events hosted by startups, corporates, investors and communities across Dublin. It’s known for its open, grassroots feel, making it easy to drop into niche meetups, practical sessions and informal networking across Ireland’s tech ecosystem.
2025 speakers: Guillaume Princen, head of EMEA at Anthropic, Sophia Spitzer, chief of staff at Marvel Fusion, Bianca Zwart, chief strategy officer at Bunq
Who you might spot there: Tom Nugent
Panathēnea, Athens
2026 dates: 27-29 May
Panathēnea, which only launched last year, is already the biggest tech festival in Greece and a reimagination of an ancient Greek festival once as popular as the Olympics. It’s on a mission to build a leading tech and culture festival for the world, hosted in spring-time Athens. The festival is looking to host 10k attendees in 2026.
2025 Speakers: Melanie Perkins, cofounder and CEO at Canva, Thomas Wolf, cofounder of Hugging Face, Laura Modiano, head of startups EMEA at OpenAI and Yannis Assael, staff research scientist at Google DeepMind
Who you might spot there: Mimi Billing
Turing Fest, Edinburgh
2026 dates: TBC
Turing Fest brings together founders, investors and tech leaders to share insights on growth, innovation and scaling startups. Rather than polished keynote speeches, it stands out for its tight-knit, community-first atmosphere, with limited numbers and high-quality networking that makes it easier to have meaningful conversations.
2025 speakers: Sharon Zhou, founder and CEO of Lamini, Matt Penneycard, partner at Ada Ventures and Alina Vandenberghe, founder at Chili Piper
Who you might spot there: Maya Dharampal-Hornby
SXSW London
2026 dates: 1-6 June
South By South West, the event born in Austin, Texas, is coming to London for its second year. Last year, it had thousands of submissions from people wanting to speak at the event — AI, quantum, automation and robotics were the most popular topics. It’s expecting around 20k attendees across the week.
2026 speakers: Josh Payne, CEO and founder of Nscale, Joleen Liang, cofounder of Squirrel AI and Victor Riparbelli, CEO & cofounder of Synthesia
Who you might spot there: Martin Coulter
Money 20/20, Amsterdam
2026 dates: 2-4 June
Fintech conference Money 20/20 was first launched by industry insiders in 2011 and is focused on all things cash. It’s known for shaping fintech narratives, with major product launches, partnerships and policy discussions often happening on its stages.
2026 speakers: Antony Jenkins, 10x CEO (and former group CEO of Barclays), Francesca Carlesi, UK CEO at Revolut, Arjun Sethi, co-CEO at Kraken, and Harriet Rees, CIO at Starling
Who you might spot there: Tom Matsuda
Mandal Slush'D, Mandal, Norway
2026 dates: 3-4 June
Mandal Slush’D is a technology and innovation event held in Mandal, Norway, bringing together developers, entrepreneurs and creative thinkers. It blends talks, networking and a relaxed coastal atmosphere to spark ideas and collaboration. It’s even said to be hosting an underwater dinner experience.
2026 speakers: Hege Nikolaisen, COO at Ayfie, Jon Kåre Stene, partner at Skyfall Ventures, Sara Rywe, partner at ByFounders and Erik Seeck, AI and Venture at Google
Who you might spot there: Mimi Billing
London Tech Week, London
2026 dates: 8-12 June
London Tech Week isn’t really one event, but a whole jamboree, with startups, big tech, investors and government figures all descending on the main conference venue, while fringe meetups and exclusive dinners are often where the most interesting conversations are had.
2026 speakers: Mati Staniszewski, CEO of ElevenLabs, Alan Chang, CEO of Fuse Energy and Jeannette Zu Furstenburg, managing director at General Catalyst
Who you might spot there: Freya Pratty and Maya Dharampal-Hornby
SuperVenture, Berlin
2026 dates: 8-10 June
The ultimate schmooze-fest for LPs and VCs from across the globe. Get the latest on emerging managers, regional markets, family offices, LP allocations and more.
2025 speakers: Andre de Haes, general partner at Backed VC, Hussein Kanji, general partner at Hoxton Ventures and Helga Valfells, founding partner at Crowberry Capital
Who you might spot there: Anne Sraders
Founders Forum, London
2026 dates: 9-11 June
The annual soiree in the Cotswolds brings together tech figures, celebrities, up-and-coming founders and top media from across the continent.
Who you might spot there: John Thornhill
Hello Tomorrow, Amsterdam
2026 dates: 11-12 June
Hello Tomorrow is a global event that focuses on deeptech built on scientific research, with many startups coming directly from labs and universities rather than accelerators. It is best known for its Paris summit, which highlights breakthroughs in areas like climate, health, energy and advanced technologies. In 2026, it will be held in Amsterdam.
2025 speakers: President of France Emmanuel Macron, Yann LeCun, former chief AI scientist at Meta and Mariette Abrahams, CEO & Founder of Qina
Who you might spot there: Maya Dharampal-Hornby
VivaTech, Paris
2025 dates: 17-20 June
VivaTech is one of Europe’s largest annual tech events that brings together startups, industry leaders and tech enthusiasts to explore emerging technologies and trends. In its 2025 edition, the event attracted about 180,000 attendees, making it one of Europe’s most-visited technology gatherings.
2025 speakers: Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral, president of France Emmanuel Macron, Yann LeCun, former chief AI scientist at Meta
Who you might spot there: Daphné Leprince-Ringuet
R.AI.SE Summit, Paris
2026 dates: 8-9 July
The Raise Summit is an exclusive, technology-agnostic, cross-industry event designed for leaders aiming to drive AI innovation in their fields.
2026 speakers: Gautier Cloix, CEO at H Company, Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, May Habib, CEO and cofounder of Writer
Who you might spot there: Daphné Leprince-Ringuet and Martin Coulter
TechBBQ, Copenhagen
2026 dates: 26-27 August
TechBBQ is an annual startup conference with a festival-like atmosphere, which mixes serious startup conversations with a relaxed, social vibe in Copenhagen. It’s known for informal networking, outdoor stages and side events that make it feel more like a community gathering than a traditional conference.
2025 speakers: Anton Osika, CEO of Lovable, Charles Reina, GTM at ElevenLabs, Meri Williams, CTO at Pleo
Who you might spot there: Mimi Billing
France Digitale, FDDAY, Paris
2026 dates: TBC
FDDAY is a single-day, village-style format event, which concentrates thousands of founders and investors into a tightly packed programme in the heart of Paris. It’s also known for its strong French and European policy angle, mixing startup pitches with big-picture debates on regulation, sovereignty and the future of tech in Europe. In September 2025, it drew over 4,000 participants for talks, panels and deal-making opportunities.
2025 speakers: Maya Noël, CEO of France Digitale, Alexia Laroche‑Joubert, CEO of Banijay France and Lubomila Jordanova, CEO of Plan A
Who you might spot there: Daphné Leprince-Ringuet
Nordic Tech Week, Stockholm
2026 dates: 9-11 September
The founders of Nordic Tech Week, which only launched last year, have copied the format of LA Tech Week to set up a city‑wide, open‑access tech festival in Stockholm. Each September, it brings together startups, investors, creatives and the public (some attendees hadn’t even heard of Lovable!) with free panels, workshops and exhibits across the city. It features hundreds of events and discussions on innovation and scaling tech in the Nordics.
2025 speakers: Anton Osika, Sophia Bendz, partner at Cherry Ventures, Lukas Saari, cofounder of Tandem Health
Who you might spot there: Mimi Billing
The Heat, Oxford
2025 dates: 19 September
A non-conference organised by the Voyagers climatetech community, where festival-goers can meet nuclear fusion startups, taste future foods, explore new technologies and enjoy a climate film festival, music performances and a startup pitch contest.
2025 speakers: Saasha Celestial-One cofounder of Olio, Dame Henrietta Moore, director of the Institute for Global Prosperity at UCL, Mark Maslin, professor of earth system science at University College London
Who you might spot there: Freya Pratty
The Resilience Conference, London
2026 dates: TBC
The Resilience Conference is becoming the go-to event for investors, startups and government leaders working at the forefront of defence technology. Over two days, speakers from defence, venture capital and emerging startups examine how technologies such as AI, dual-use systems, quantum computing and cybersecurity are shaping the future of defence, security and resilience.
2025 speakers: Torsten Reil, Helsing CEO, General Catalyst’s Jeannette zü Furstenberg, Klaus Hommel, partner at Lakestar, Philip Lockwood, managing director at Stark
Who you’ll spot there: Anne Sraders
Sifted Summit, London
2026 dates: 30 September - 1 October
The European startup event of the year (not that we’re biased) — Sifted Summit brings together over 2k attendees for two days of panel discussions, roundtable sessions and networking opportunities. For the early birds ready to secure their place, pre-registration is now open.
2025 speakers: Sequoia partner Luciana Lixandru, Eric Schmidt, former CEO and chairman, Google, Roxanne Varza, director of Station F, Greg Jackson, founder and CEO of Octopus Energy
Who you’ll spot there: The whole Sifted team, gathered in one place. Like in 2025's event, we'll have a booth where you can come meet the journalists.
Unlock VC Summit (formerly WVC:E), Barcelona
2026 dates: 7-9 October
The Unlock VC Summit is an annual gathering for women in venture capital that brings together hundreds of GPs, LPs and VCs for curated conversations, networking and panels focused on the future of the industry. In 2025, it was held over three days in Paris with over 400 investors attending.
2025 speakers: Reshma Sohoni, managing partner at Seedcamp, Judith Dada, partner at Visionaries, Laura Connell, partner at Atomico
Who you might spot there: Maya Dharampal-Hornby
Project A Knowledge Conference (PAKCon), Berlin
2026 dates: TBC
The Project A Knowledge Conference is a one‑day European tech and startup event organised by investor Project A that brings together founders, investors and digital experts for practical talks, workshops and networking on topics like scaling, marketing and data.
2025 speakers: Elisabeth L'Orange, partner at Deloitte AI & Data and Nicole Büttner, founder and CEO at Merantix Momentum
Who you might spot there: Anne Sraders
Norrsken Impact Week, Barcelona
2026 dates: 14-15 October
Norrsken Impact Week, hosted by Norrsken Foundation, is an annual event that brings together founders, investors and changemakers focused on impact entrepreneurship and sustainability. In 2025, it hosted over 1,000 participants discussing climate tech, impact investing, and scaling solutions for global challenges.
2025 speakers: Peter Carlsson, former CEO of Northvolt, Mike Schroepfer, former CTO of Meta, Björn Öste, founder of Oatly
Who you might spot there: Mimi Billing
Web Summit, Lisbon
2026 dates: 9–12 November
Web Summit is a large annual technology conference that brings together founders, investors and tech leaders from around the world to discuss innovation, emerging tech and the future of the internet. Its sheer scale makes it less like a conference and more like a temporary tech city, complete with its own app, transport flows and late-night side events across Lisbon. It’s also famous for unexpected speaker pairings and after-hours networking.
2025 speakers: Anton Osika, tennis legend Maria Sharapova, Alex Schultz, CMO at Meta, Michele Catasta, president of Replit
Who you might spot there: Martin Coulter
Tectonic European Defense Summit, Paris
2026 dates: TBC
Tectonic European Defense Summit is a two‑day defence and security event that brings together founders, investors, military leaders, policymakers and technologists to explore the future of European defence and innovation.
2025 speakers: Loïc Mougeolle, CEO of Comand AI, Will Blyth, CEO of Arondite, Tyler Sweatt, CEO of Second Front Systems
Who you might spot there: Anne Sraders
Slush, Helsinki
2026 dates: 18-19 November
A not-for-profit organisation, Slush boasts over 13k attendees, which includes founders, operators, investors and media. In 2026, it will be the 18th edition of the event. Known for its many side events, drinks and parties, plenty of investors and startups come to Helsinki just to mingle outside the official conference.
2025 speakers: Anton Osika (the one founder every event fought for last year), Lucy Liu, president of Airwallex, Markus Villig, founder of Bolt, Hélène Huby, founder and CEO of The Exploration Company
Who you might spot there: Mimi Billing and Anne Sraders
AI-Pulse, Paris
2026 dates: TBC
AI-Pulse is a one‑day artificial intelligence conference bringing together AI leaders, researchers, engineers and founders to explore breakthroughs in AI research, products and real‑world applications. Held at iconic Paris-based startup campus Station F, you’ll be sure to spot some prominent French founders and investors, including billionaire entrepreneur Xavier Niel, who traditionally kick-starts the event. In 2025 it had over 2,000 onsite attendees.
2025 speakers: Yann LeCun, former VP & chief AI scientist at Meta, Xavier Niel, founder of iliad Group, Jérôme Monceaux, CEO and cofounder of Enchanted Tools
Who you might spot there: Daphné Leprince-Ringuet
