Friday 20 March 2026 9am

Buy tickets

Buy tickets

IGNITE YOUR DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY:

UMBRACO SPARK V CONFERENCE 2026 - UNVEILING THE FUTURE OF UMBRACO

The Umbraco Spark Innovation Conference will return on Friday, 20 March 2026.

Umbraco Spark focuses on technical, innovation and developer-focused topics and is dedicated to bringing together developers for a day of learning and inspiration.

> The 2026 Call for Speakers is open!
> Apply or nominate for a FREE Opportunity ticket

Fri 20 Mar 26 9am

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Submit your talk

2026 LINE UP.

We’re thrilled to announce the Call for Speakers is now open for Umbraco Spark 2026 — the UK’s leading Umbraco developer conference focused on innovation and technical excellence. Whether you're a seasoned developer, or innovator working with Umbraco or .NET technologies — this is your chance to share your expertise with a passionate and forward-thinking community.

We welcome talks on:

  • New Technologies: Share insights on v17, new JS frameworks, AI, or unique projects like a headless Umbraco backend.

  • Developer-Focused Topics: Cover dev tools, integrations (e.g., DXP), DevOps, debugging, or unique approaches to Umbraco.

  • Tips & Tools: Showcase clever solutions, packages, testing strategies, or deployment processes you've created or improved.

  • Accessibility & Sustainability: Discuss building inclusive, eco-friendly websites and their real-world impact.

Submit your talk today

The conference will feature one main track containing in-depth technical talks and lightning talks from a line up of expert speakers sharing their knowledge and experience on the latest trends and innovations using Umbraco. Alongside the main track, an extended hackathon will take place where attendees involved in the Umbraco Package jam on Thursday 19th March can finish up their package ready to bring it to the Package Awards at the end of the conference.

Why. What's in it for you?

  • Innovative and inspiring top-tier talks ranging from in-depth technical talks to lightning talks
  • The epic Umbraco Spark notebook and Spark t-shirt
  • Lunch to fuel you for the afternoon sessions
  • Unlimited tea, coffee and water
  • Extended Hackathon & Package Awards
  • Beers at the end of the day with incredible views over Millennium Square, the Harbourside and the Bristol Cathedral
  • After party to get to know all your fellow attendees!

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Where.

We the Curious is centrally located on Bristol’s harbourside and a few minutes walk from the city centre or a 20-minute walk from Bristol Temple Meads train station.

To find out more about getting to We The Curious, visit their directions page.

To find out more about the accessibility of the venue visit their accessibility page.

For any questions about the conference, please email umbracospark@gibedigital.com.

Date
Fri / 20 Mar 26 / 9AM
Name
Umbraco Spark Innovation Conference
Address
We The Curious Bristol, BS1 5DB
Time
9am - 5pm

GET IN TOUCH!

The Call for Speakers is open, you can submit a talk here. 
If you'd like to get in touch for any other reason, drop us a message below. We'd love to hear from you. 

SPARK 2025.

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Connect.

Sponsors. Making sparks fly...

If you'd like to sponsor the conference in 2026, we'd love to hear from you at umbracospark@gibedigital.com

Rachel Breeze Rachel Breeze

Rachel Breeze Development Practice Lead and .NET Developer, Nexer Digital

Rachel is a 2x Microsoft MVP for .NET and Web Development; she is also a 6x Umbraco MVP. Rachel has been a developer for over 25 years, working in the Microsoft .Net stack. She is passionate about accessibility, supporting and encouraging future developers, and in her spare time, she enjoys scuba diving. She also drinks copious amounts of tea.

Umbraco Decisions: Stay, Upgrade, Rewrite

With Umbraco 17 now available, the temptation to upgrade can be strong after all, it has new features and new performance gains, but upgrading isn't always the right choice, and sticking with your current version isn't always the wrong one. Every Umbraco project lives in its own reality. Each project has its own budgets, integrations, risk tolerance, developer capacity, and long-term business goals, all of which shape what "the right path" looks like.

In this talk, we'll explore the full spectrum of options for maintaining an Umbraco site, from staying on the project's current major version to upgrading thoughtfully or even rewriting when it truly makes sense.
Kenn Jacobsen Kenn Jacobsen

Kenn Jacobsen Principal Engineer , Umbraco

Kenn is a 40-something happy developer, currently building friendly stuff at Umbraco.

Other accomplishments include one kid, one girlfriend, countless hours spent playing trads and shanties in pubs, 10+ years in the Umbraco community and 4 times Umbraco MVP.

Umbraco Search - a developer's perspective

Umbraco Search will replace search as we know it in Umbraco today. But what does that really mean?

And what's in it for us as developers?

In this session we'll have a close look at Umbraco Search through the eyes of a developer. We'll cover:

  • The shiny new things.

  • The extensibility model.

  • The impact (and how we can prepare for it).

Expect lots of demos and lots of code!