Highlights

In July 2025 we held our ninth Innovation Festival, returning once again to Newcastle Racecourse hosting over 50 in-person sprints in the glorious North East.

We also hosted our second Young Citizens Work Experience Festival, which saw over 300 students from 12 different schools taking part in a variety of real-life and online challenges.

Over 7m people watched IF25 unfold on social media, and over 500 different organisations took part in the event - which was more sustainable than ever.

It was our first fully hydrogen-powered event, and everything was eco-conscious right down to the glitter! 

Find out more great ideas progressed from the amazing work and collaboration at each Innovation Festival so far:

In the nine years of Innovation Festivals, we’ve covered a lot of ground.

Since our first Innovation Festival, we have come on leaps and bounds. Over 20,000 people have joined us over the nine years, and our potential project value is £50m a year. 

There’s a lot of water under the bridge (pun totally intended) and we thought we’d share some of the best bits and highlights from previous years with you. Enjoy!