TED's flagship conference: five days of stage talks for an audience admitted by application, with the talks themselves published free afterwards.
An event page tells you when it happens (with how sure we are of the date), why it matters, how the week around it feels, when to arrive and leave, where people stay, how access works, and which events come before and after it on the circuit.
TED's annual conference is the parent event of everything that carries the name. It runs as a sequence of short stage sessions across five days, with speakers drawn from science, technology, design, the arts, politics, medicine and activism, each given a strict time limit and a rehearsed brief.
The 2026 edition ran from 13 to 17 April at the Vancouver Convention Centre under the theme All of Us, and it was the last in that city.
The most important thing about TED for anyone reading a calendar is that the product is not the conference.
01Why it matters
TED's influence is disproportionate to its size because of what happens after the room empties: a talk given on that stage in April is watched by millions over the following years, and the format itself has been copied by every conference organiser in the world.
02The week around it
Neither Vancouver nor San Diego is noticeably altered by a conference of this size, and that is part of TED's character: it is a large event in a large city rather than a takeover.
03When to arrive
Arrive the day before the opening; the programme starts early and runs long, and the sessions are the point.
04Where to stay
For the Vancouver years, Coal Harbour and the downtown core around Canada Place put attendees within a short walk of the convention centre, with Yaletown and the West End a little further and quieter; the Fairmont properties on Canada Place and Georgia Street were the landmarks.
05Access and hospitality
Attendance is by application. TED reviews applicants and admits its audience rather than selling open tickets, and it does not publish a public price on its conference pages; press reporting has long described membership as among the most expensive of any conference, and we quote no figure.
06Where the social activity happens
Almost everything is inside the conference footprint: the simulcast lounges, the exhibition and workshop spaces, and the meals, which TED treats as part of the programme rather than as breaks from it.
07Getting there
08Practicalities
09History
TED was founded in February 1984 by Richard Saul Wurman and Harry Marks as a one-off conference on the convergence of technology, entertainment and design, and became annual in 1990.
10Who is there
Company founders and chief executives; venture and philanthropic funders; scientists, physicians and academics; designers, architects and artists; writers, film-makers and journalists; foundation and non-profit leaders; and the TED fellows and speakers themselves, who attend as participants rather than as guests.
What else is happening
Overlap finder →Same country
-
25 Feb → Feb 28, 2027Los Angeles · United States · Art Frieze Los AngelesSignificant
-
4 Mar → Mar 7, 2027Amelia Island · United States · Automotive The AmeliaNotable
-
25 Feb → Feb 28, 2027Miami Beach · United States · Food & Wine Food Network South Beach Wine & Food FestivalNotable
-
28 Feb → Mar 14, 2027Indian Wells · United States · Tennis BNP Paribas OpenNotable
-
6 Jan → Mar 28, 2027Wellington · United States · Equestrian Winter Equestrian FestivalNotable
The circuit continues
Dates on record
| Edition | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 · TED2026 | · TED2026 | ExpectedNot yet announced. Projected from the 2026 dates (April 13–17); the organizer's pattern usually holds. |
| 2027 · TED2027 | · TED2027 | ConfirmedListed by TED as 1-4 March 2027 in San Diego, California, the first edition of the annual conference outside Vancouver since 2013 and a move both of city and of month. TED also lists TEDNext for 17-19 November 2027 in Atlanta. |
| 2026 · TED2026 | · TED2026 | CompletedHeld 13-17 April 2026 at the Vancouver Convention Centre under the theme All of Us. This was the last TED conference in Vancouver before the move to San Diego. |
Related events
In the press
All news →- Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Elected Chair of AFI’s Board of Directors (Exclusive)The Hollywood Reporter · 22 October 2026
- Netflix Stock and Price Targets Drop as Wall Street Debates If the Streamer Can Flip the ScriptThe Hollywood Reporter · 21 October 2026
- Netflix: “We Need Better Execution” in U.S., and Peter Rice Can Deliver ItThe Hollywood Reporter · 20 October 2026
- Sotheby’s To Offer $100 M. Collection of Ted and Ruth Baum, Led by $15 M. Paintings by Rothko and RuschaARTnews · 8 October 2026
- How the ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 Finale Sets Up What Comes NextThe Hollywood Reporter · 7 October 2026
- ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4, Episode 10 Recap: Wrapping UpThe New York Times · 7 October 2026
Sources
- TED Conferences, TED official accessed 6 September 2026
- Join us at TED2026 in Vancouver, April 13-17, TED official accessed 6 September 2026
- TED (conference), Wikipedia encyclopedia accessed 6 September 2026