Climb26, the flagship business festival created by ClimbUK, is returning to Leeds in July.
The event will return to the Royal Armouries Museum and Leeds Dock on July 1 and 2, bringing together thousands of entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders.
Now in its fourth year, the festival has built a reputation for doing things differently.
Rather than relying on celebrity keynote speakers, Climb26 puts experienced founders, operators and investors on stage to share honest insights and practical lessons from building and scaling businesses.
The festival was created to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing UK entrepreneurs, including unequal access to investment and networks.
Gordon Bateman, founder of ClimbUK, said: 鈥淲e created ClimbUK because we believed ambitious businesses outside London deserved better access to investment, expertise and opportunity.
鈥淭oo many business events feel predictable and inaccessible, with the same speakers and the same audiences year after year.
鈥淐limbUK was designed to be different and our goal is simple: for every attendee to leave with new ideas, valuable connections and greater confidence to take the next step in their business journey.鈥�
Recent industry data shows that all-female founding teams continue to receive only around 2 per cent of UK venture capital funding, while London and the South East attract the majority of investment.
Climb26 was established to help challenge those disparities by connecting founders from across the UK with investors, mentors, partners and peers in an environment designed to encourage meaningful conversations and real opportunities.
Over two days, attendees will take part in more than 40 workshops, masterclasses, open-mic pitch sessions, meet-the-buyer opportunities and curated networking events.
Topics will include raising investment, scaling operations, building high-performing teams, adopting emerging technologies and expanding into new markets.
The festival also includes evening networking events such as a female founders reception, investor speed networking sessions and sector-specific meetups.
Previous ClimbUK events and regional tours have helped attendees secure investment, partnerships, customers and long-term mentoring relationships.
To help attendees make the most of the experience, Climb26 will also feature an AI-powered event app that recommends sessions, facilitates introductions and helps delegates build personalised schedules based on their business goals.