PRIVACY IS FREEDOM .
Digital rights, privacy, open technology and the tools that help keep free societies free.
Technology is changing how we communicate, spend, organise, identify ourselves and participate in society. Freedom Fest brings together the people asking what that means for our freedom — and building the tools to protect it.
Pendulum Hotel, Manchester · Sat, 21 November 2026
Your identity. Your data. Your money. Your speech. Your choice.
Technology is changing freedom.
Technology has given us extraordinary ways to communicate, create, organise and transact. But those same systems increasingly shape who can speak, what can be seen, how people are identified, where money can move and how much of our private lives can be observed.
Freedom Fest is a place to explore that tension.
Not through one political lens and not through one technology, but through conversations about privacy, civil liberties, open systems and the practical tools that can give individuals greater control over their digital lives.
This is about asking a simple question:
How do we make sure technology expands human freedom rather than restricts it?
SURVEILLANCE
Facial recognition, mass data collection, tracking and the growing ability of governments and corporations to observe our lives.
PRIVACY
Encryption, private communication, data ownership and the principle that privacy should be normal — not suspicious.
MONEY
Cash, CBDCs, financial surveillance, Bitcoin and whether access to money should depend on permission.
SPEECH
Censorship, online regulation, age verification, open protocols and the future of expression on the internet.
TECHNOLOGY
Open-source software, decentralisation, self-hosting and tools designed to increase individual agency rather than dependence.
MORE THAN A CONFERENCE.
Freedom Fest is designed to make difficult subjects accessible, practical and genuinely interesting.
Hear from campaigners and technologists. Take part in debates around some of the biggest questions facing the digital world. Learn how privacy tools actually work. Meet organisations defending civil liberties. Discover technology designed around freedom rather than surveillance.
And most importantly, meet other people who care about where all of this is heading.
TALKS
PANELS
WORKSHOPS
FREEDOM TECH
ACTIVISM
COMMUNITY
WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
Freedom isn’t one issue.
It runs through the way we communicate, move through public spaces, prove who we are, use money, publish information and interact with increasingly powerful digital systems.
Freedom Fest brings those conversations together rather than treating them as isolated debates.
MEET THE PEOPLE JOINING THE CONVERSATION.
Freedom Fest brings together people approaching digital freedom from very different directions — campaigners, civil-liberties advocates, developers, journalists, researchers, founders and people building alternatives.
Some will agree with one another. Some definitely won’t.
That’s part of the point.
We want conversations that go beyond familiar bubbles and bring together people who might normally attend very different events, but increasingly find themselves confronting the same questions about privacy, technology and individual freedom.
Peter Yared
Layer3.Press
SUSIE V WARD
Independent Journalist / Bitcoin Policy UK
BEN ARC
Nostr.com
OSCAR PACEY
Tranquility Node
MORE SPEAKERS COMING SOON
TECHNOLOGY SHOULD EMPOWER YOU — NOT CONTROL YOU.
Freedom isn’t only something to debate.
A growing ecosystem of developers, communities and open-source projects is building technology around a very different set of assumptions: privacy by default, permissionless participation, user ownership and greater control over your own digital life.
Freedom Fest gives people the opportunity to discover these tools, understand why they matter and — importantly — actually try them.
You don’t need to be technical. You just need to be curious.
COMMUNICATE PRIVATELY
Encrypted messaging and communication that doesn’t require giving away your entire social graph.
OWN YOUR IDENTITY
Explore approaches to identity where individuals – rather than platforms – retain greater control.
PROTECT YOUR MONEY
Understand cash, privacy tools and alternatives to increasingly permissioned financial systems.
PUBLISH FREELY
Discover open protocols and decentralised networks that make communication harder to censor.
CONTROL YOUR DATA
Learn how open-source and self-hosted tools can reduce dependence on centralised platforms.
BUILD OPENLY
Meet developers creating technology that anyone can inspect, improve and use.
THE PEOPLE DEFENDING FREEDOM.
The debate around technology and freedom is already happening across the UK.
Civil-liberties organisations are challenging surveillance. Privacy advocates are defending encryption. Campaigners are scrutinising digital identity and online regulation. Open-source communities are building alternatives. Bitcoiners are exploring money that can operate without central permission.
Freedom Fest exists to bring more of those worlds into the same room.
Organisations, projects and communities joining the conversation
FREEDOM FEST MEETS BITFEST.
Freedom Fest takes place alongside Bitfest UK at the Pendulum Hotel in Manchester, bringing the worlds of civil liberties, privacy, freedom technology and Bitcoin together under one roof.
The two events have distinct identities, programmes and spaces, but increasingly overlapping questions.
Freedom Fest tickets give you access to the full Freedom Fest programme.
Bitfest tickets include access to Freedom Fest too — giving you the entire weekend experience.
Already have a Freedom Fest ticket and decide you want more? Upgrade to Bitfest at any time — even during the event — for £50 adults / £38 children.
BITFEST TICKETS INCLUDE FREEDOM FEST ENTRY — ONE TICKET. BOTH EVENTS.
Adult: £49 | Child: £21
Privacy, Digital Rights, Civil Liberties, Freedom Tech
From £99 Early Bird
Bitcoin, Culture, Technology, Music, Community
THIS IS YOUR CONVERSATION TOO.
HELP BUILD FREEDOM FEST.
Freedom Fest isn’t intended to be something audiences simply sit and watch.
We’re building it with the campaigners, communities, technologists, speakers, organisations and curious people already working on, or concerned about, the future of freedom in a digital society.
There are several ways to take part.
Come and join the conversation.
ATTEND
Meet people from outside your usual bubble, discover new ideas and leave with tools you can actually use.
GET TICKETSHave something worth saying?
SPEAK
We want campaigners, researchers, journalists, technologists and people with first-hand experience of the issues we're discussing.
PROPOSE A TALKShow people how freedom technology works.
RUN A WORKSHOP / DEMO
Hands-on education is a major part of what we want Freedom Fest to become.
GET INVOLVEDBring your people.
ORGANISATIONS & COMMUNITIES
If you're part of a privacy, civil-liberties, open-source, activist or freedom-focused organisation or community, we'd like to hear from you.
WORK WITH USEVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
New event, big subjects, and two festivals happening alongside one another, so naturally there are questions. Here’s what you need to know about attending Freedom Fest, who it’s for and how it connects with Bitfest UK.
What is Freedom Fest?
Freedom Fest is a UK event exploring privacy, digital rights, civil liberties and technology designed to increase individual freedom.
Where is Freedom Fest?
Freedom Fest takes place at the Pendulum Hotel in central Manchester, alongside Bitfest UK.
Freedom Fest has its own dedicated event space within the venue, giving it a distinct identity and programme while keeping Freedom Fest closely connected to the wider Bitfest weekend.
Full venue access, travel and event layout information will be published closer to the event.
Who is Freedom Fest for?
Privacy advocates, civil-liberties campaigners, technologists, journalists, open-source developers, activists, Bitcoiners and anyone concerned about the relationship between technology and individual freedom.
Do I need to understand technology?
Absolutely not. Freedom Fest is deliberately designed to make these subjects accessible to people who don’t consider themselves technical.
Is Freedom Fest a Bitcoin conference?
No. Bitcoin is one part of a much broader conversation around financial freedom and censorship-resistant technology.
Freedom Fest is designed for anyone interested in privacy, civil liberties, digital rights and the future of technology.
What is the relationship between Freedom Fest and Bitfest?
Freedom Fest and Bitfest UK take place alongside one another at the Pendulum Hotel, Manchester.
They are distinct events with their own identities, programmes and areas within the venue, while sharing access and bringing together communities with increasingly overlapping interests in privacy, freedom, open technology and Bitcoin.
Does my Freedom Fest ticket include Bitfest?
No. A Freedom Fest ticket gives you access to Freedom Fest and its full programme at the Pendulum Hotel.
If you decide you’d also like to attend Bitfest, you can upgrade at any time — including during the event itself.
Adult upgrade — £50
Child upgrade — £38
Freedom Fest ticket holders also retain access to the £99 Bitfest adult ticket price after the public Early Bird period ends, so buying Freedom Fest first doesn’t mean losing the opportunity to upgrade at the Early Bird rate later.
Does a Bitfest ticket include Freedom Fest?
Yes.
Every Bitfest ticket includes access to Freedom Fest on Saturday, alongside the full Bitfest weekend programme.
Can I upgrade my Freedom Fest ticket at the event?
Yes. You can upgrade before the event or while you’re there.
Adults — £50
Children — £38
Just pay the difference and upgrade your Freedom Fest access to Bitfest.
How much are Freedom Fest tickets?
Adults — £49
Children — £21
Your ticket includes the complete Freedom Fest programme at the Pendulum Hotel.
Bitfest isn’t included with a Freedom Fest ticket, but you can upgrade at any time.
Can I speak or run a workshop?
Yes. Head to our Get Involved section to propose a talk, workshop or demonstration.
Can organisations or communities take part?
Yes. We actively want privacy, digital-rights, civil-liberties and freedom-focused organisations and communities involved. Use the ‘Work With Us’ button to get in touch.
I have a different question. How can I get in contact?
THE FIGHT FOR DIGITAL FREEDOM HAS A HISTORY.
THIS DIDN'T START YESTERDAY
Long before today’s arguments over Digital ID, CBDCs, platform censorship and mass digital surveillance reached the mainstream, people were asking what an electronic future could mean for privacy and individual freedom.
In 1993, cypherpunk Eric Hughes published A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto — making the case for strong cryptography, private communication, anonymous transaction systems and electronic money as tools people could build and use for themselves.
Bitcoin came later. It didn’t begin that conversation. It grew from a much longer tradition of using open technology, cryptography and decentralised systems to give individuals greater freedom and less dependence on permission.
Freedom Fest brings that history into today’s conversation.
KEEP YOUR FREEDOM.
Freedom Fest 2026 is only one day.
The conversation isn’t.
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YOUR IDENTITY DATA MONEY SPEECH CHOICE .
Freedom Fest · Pendulum Hotel, Manchester · 21 November 2026
