Beyond Conference
Venue
Lowry
Dates
23
BEYOND Conference 2026 is built around two themes, Experience and Growth, each with its own focus, energy and agenda. Each themed day brings together the people shaping the creative industries to explore the sector’s greatest opportunities and tackle its defining challenges.
> EXPERIENCE Day on November 24 talks to the creative and intellectual heart of BEYOND.
> GROWTH Day on November 25 is where bold ideas become sustainable realities.
Alongside the conference, Festival offer a series of free live events in MediaCity, celebrating the people, ideas and art forms reshaping what’s possible at the intersection of creativity and technology.
Monday 23 November
FREE FESTVAL PROGRAMME
Creativity + Technology + Culture + For Everyone
Taking the energy of BEYOND Conference off the stage and into the room, each event is immersive, social and FREE — expect live performances, hands-on workshops and conversations you won’t find anywhere else. Festival is the chance for everyone to be part of the conversation. It recognises the success and value of previous Fringe events and brings them into the heart of the programme – events like last year’s Creative Mixer at Hot House in Salford — a sell-out night of live performance, spatial audio, digital art and creative tech.
Produced in partnership with Salford City Council, MediaCity, University of Salford and GM Business Growth Hub.
Register for your free festival pass to be the first to hear about FESTIVAL events.
TUESDAY 24 NOVEMBER
Experiencing the Future: Lightning Talks
Four talks open the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Experience Day programme, delivered on behalf of UKRI. Each offers a case study in access-led R&D: a rhythm game built from beats created with migrant communities; an exhibition curated with and for blind and visually impaired people; an immersive theatre piece exploring menopause and bodily autonomy; and haptic technology that turns live music audiences into active participants. Different artforms, one golden thread: UKRI-supported research putting underrepresented groups; voices and experiences at the centre of the work.
Deepa Mann-Kler, CEO, Neon
Myra Appannah, CO-DIRECTOR / ARTIST, BRiGHTBLACK
Pod Bluman, Project Director, Bluman Associates Ltd
Universal UK Resort: From investment to impact
A look at the partnership behind Universal United Kingdom Resort, one of the largest ever investments in the UK tourism sector and a destination set to become the UK’s most popular visitor attraction.
This conversation will look at the planned theme park and resort and also consider the investment in transport, infrastructure and skills needed to realise a project of this scale. How can it create new opportunities for performers, designers, technicians and creatives, build a new talent pipeline, and stimulate sustainable growth across the region? Join senior representatives from Universal and DCMS to learn more.