Gloucester is hosting its first-ever talks for global ideas platform TEDx this September 2026, bringing together a range of speakers to educate and inspire the community.
The TEDxEastgate Street Gloucester event at Gloucester Guildhall will feature talks 'rooted in Gloucester and beyond', exploring topics from identity, community and lived experience, to creativity and innovation.
Organised independently by communities around the world, TEDx puts a local spin on the world-famous TED talks format – where educational and inspiring ideas are shared in short presentations, with the aim of sparking conversation, deepening understanding, and driving meaningful change.
Taking place on Sunday 20 September 2026, the Gloucester event is being planned and delivered entirely by a team of local young people who are connected through youth-led community organisation CHISPA CIC, with sponsorship from Gloucester Guildhall, Creative Sustainability, 30 Percy, Nightstop, and the Gloucester Gateway Trust.
Carrying the theme 'Merge: Where Stories Meet, Communities Grow', the organisers say that at its heart, the event will be about connection – 'showing how individual stories meet to form something bigger, and how ideas can help people feel seen, challenged, and understood'.
The description reads: 'For generations Gloucester has carried a reputation. From its industrial past and docklands heritage to perceptions about the city that still linger today, Gloucester has often found itself judged before being fully understood.'
Speakers include sensory heritage enthusiast, Ian Evans, delivering his talk, 'Gloucester Stinks' – a 'bold and thought-provoking' exploration of how places are perceived, how reputations are formed, and why communities deserve the chance to redefine themselves, using Gloucester as a lens through which to explore wider questions around belonging, pride, perception, and change.
Organiser Tia Callum said: 'This is a truly ambitious project and we’re excited to bring a world-class platform to Gloucester – and to showcase local speakers within a format that has international status.
'This is about local pride and global relevance, with Gloucester finally joining the international TEDx network through a project led by us as young people in the city. We also hope it helps challenge perceptions around what young people can be capable of achieving.'
Tickets and full information about the event can be found on the TEDxEastgate Street Gloucester website.
