SunFest 2026

The flagship event of Sunderland Business Week 2026 will bring together inspiring voices, fresh ideas and practical insights from across the business community.

Taking place on Thursday 15 October at The Fire Station and Culture House, this dynamic, festival-style event will feature a full day of engaging talks, interactive workshops and valuable networking opportunities.

Alongside the main programme, attendees can explore a range of breakout sessions, offering additional perspectives, experiences and opportunities to connect.

Our headline speaker will be Spencer Matthews. Spencer is an entrepreneur, endurance athlete and health advocate, who rose to fame for his role on hit TV show Made in Chelsea, and has since appeared on numerous TV shows and podcasts. He is the founder and CEO of CleanCo, the world's leading independent non-alcoholic spirits brand, which he launched in 2019. Inspired by his own journey into sobriety, the company offers alcohol-free alternatives to gin, rum, tequila, whiskey and vodka.

Spencer has also achieved remarkable feats as an endurance athlete, holding three Guinness World Records, including completing Ironman-distance triathlons across all seven continents in just 21 days. He also featured in the hit Disney+ documentary Finding Michael which followed Spencer's journey to Everest's treacherous "Death Zone" to recover the body of his older brother, Michael Matthews, the youngest Briton to summit the mountain at age 22, before tragically disappearing on the mountain in 1999.

Spencer will be bringing his insights on resilience, purpose-driven leadership and personal transformation to SunFest, in our opening keynote session.

Further details on speakers and session topics will be announced soon.

For group bookings of five or more, please contact [email protected].

Please note: breakout sessions have limited capacity and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.