Join the Lunicorn Festival 2026
Pitches, chat and party for Reading’s tech community
Useful connections are easier to make when the right people are in the same place, with enough time to talk properly. That is the idea behind the Reading Tech Cluster’s Lunicorn Festival 2026 – Tuesday 7th July from 12:00-23:00.
In just one day the RTC is bringing founders, investors, advisers, sponsors, academics, students and supporters of the regional tech sector together for a full day of pitches, conversations, connections and celebration.
The Lunicorn Festival is three connected events: the Summer Pitch Event at Green Park Conference Centre, a Walk in the Park through beautiful Green Park, and the Summer Party at Reading Football Club.
You can join one part or better still, come to all three.
If you want better connections in the Reading and Thames Valley tech community, this is a practical way to meet useful people and make new introductions. Not to mention have fun on a summer’s evening.
Why Lunicorn Festival?
The Lunicorn is Reading Tech Cluster’s mascot and logo. It brings together Reading’s lion, representing pride, community and strength, with the unicorn, representing opportunity and ambition.
That fits the shape of the day. The festival starts with firms pitching for growth, continues with time to talk and connect, and ends with an evening gathering for the wider tech community.
The aim is simple: make growth in the region easier by connecting the people building, backing and supporting tech firms.
Starts with the Summer Pitch Event
The day begins at our event sponsor’s home the Green Park Conference Centre with the Summer Pitch Event from 12:00 to 16:30.
Eight tech firms from Reading, Berkshire and the wider Thames Valley will pitch to investors and advisers, take questions and explain their growth plans.
There will also be a keynote from Lauren Crawley-Moore at the London Stock Exchange.
This session is for founders, executive teams, investors, advisers, finance professionals, academics, students and anyone interested in how regional tech firms are raising capital and building for growth.
For founders, it is a chance to see how other firms are positioning their growth plans. For investors and advisers, it gives an easy way to meet more founders. For wider attendees, it is a useful way to understand what growth-stage firms need and how the local community can help.
Summer Pitch Event: 12:00 to 16:30, Green Park Conference Centre. Register here.
Keep the conversations going on the walk
Useful conversation don’t need to finish when the pitch session ends. Our Walk in the Park gives people a great way to keep talking after the Pitch Event and before the Summer Party begins.
The walk follows a short route through the green and water side space around Green Park to Reading Football Club. It gives people time to continue conversations, make new introductions and move into the evening at a different pace.
You can come from the Pitch Event, join just for the walk, or meet everyone later at the party. If you plan to walk, please register so we know how many people to expect.
Walk in the Park: 16:30 to 17:00, Green Park to Reading Football Club. Register here.
End the day at the Summer Party
The Lunicorn Festival continues in the evening at Reading Football Club from 17:00 to 23:00 with the RTC Summer Party.
No panels. No speeches. Just music, food, dancing, conversation and more time with the people building and backing the region’s tech sector.
Come from the Pitch Event and Walk in the Park, or join the evening on its own.
The party is open to people across tech, business, finance, academia and the wider Reading and Thames Valley sector.
Summer Party: 17:00 to 23:00, Reading Football Club. Register here.
Who should come?
This day is for people who want better connections in the Reading, Berkshire and Thames Valley tech community. That includes founders, scale-up teams, investors, advisers, sponsors, business leaders, academics, students and supporters of the regional tech sector.
You do not need to attend all three events. Join the part of the day that is most useful to you. If you can make more than one, even better. The value of the Festival is in the way each part connects to the next.
Tickets are limited. And going Fast. Book your place today
Please register for each event you plan to attend. Either on our Festival page or via Luma here:
Summer Pitch Event
Walk in the Park
We look forward to meeting you on 7 July.