DAY ONE FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

What an incredible start to the CIPD Festival of Work

Today, thousands HR and people leaders came together at Excel London to unlock people potential, and shape thriving, future-ready organisations.  From the moment the doors opened, the venue was buzzing with inspiration, networking, and breakthrough ideas.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for a phenomenal opening day we can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow! Here is a look at what made today so spectacular.

Content that truly created a buzz

Peter Cheese opened to a filled main stage, exploring how organisations can deliver strategies that focus on being human centric, sustainable and resilient. Later, Prof. Alice Roberts kicked off the Festival with their powerful sessions which forced us to rethink leadership and explore the true evolutionary power of workplace diversity.

We dove deep into the immediate priorities facing HR, featuring evidence-led discussions on how to navigate the upcoming Employee Rights Act and build better working lives through collaboration.

Across the day we saw the AI lab filled, with people coming together to explore how we can ethically use AI and some of the best practices around every day tools to help us in our working lives.


An immersive Festival experience


The Festival floor was alive with interactive learning, hands-on workshops, and vibrant networking zones designed to solve your challenges in real-time.

This years new stages, the 'Tech Innovation'  and 'Practical Solutions' stages were absolutely buzzing, letting attendees dive headfirst into the next generation of workplace tools and cut straight through the noise, serving up brilliant, ready-to-use tactics for the year ahead. 



We can't wait to welcome you back to the CIPD Festival of Work tomorrow!

Show dates 

10-11 June 2026

Excel London, One Western Gateway,

Royal Victoria Dock, London, E16 1XL

What 3 words: ///cheer.events.began

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