DreamHack Birmingham 2026 was the gaming festival’s first proper debut in the UK, and the three day event filled a significant gap in the UK’s gaming scene, having lost expos like WASD, Insomnia, and a full scale EGX in recent years.
Following a successful weekend with the numbers to prove it, it has been confirmed that DreamHack will be returning to Birmingham in 2027. Seeing as it was the first time DreamHack was held in the UK, and with the promise of future events, it feels only right to shine a spotlight on the festival and what it has to offer.
What Is DreamHack?
What initially started as a gathering of a few friends in Sweden in early 1990s, DreamHack eventually left the basement and entered the school’s cafeteria in 1994. Since then, the festival has travelled across Europe and to the US, championing esports and community based gaming.
While it may be a cliché, DreamHack can only be described as a celebration of all things gaming; tournaments, multiple stages hosting aforementioned tournaments but also content creators and professional cosplayers, meet and greets, community quizzes, upcoming games, interactive exhibits throughout the event – you get the gist.
The show floor of DreamHack Birmingham 2026 was host to over 50 partners and exhibitors. Pictured is a nice car.
What Was on at DreamHack Birmingham 2026?
DreamHack Birmingham 2026 took place on 27th-29th March at the NEC, Birmingham. The weekend saw an impressive turnout, with over 54,000 guests from 65 countries, placing it 4th in the ranking for highest number of attendees across all DreamHack events.
The show floor spanned three halls of the NEC, with exhibits from DreamHack’s 60 or so partners, including RedBull, Samsung, and DHL to name a few, as well as the Indie Playground; a games showcase from local and global developers. There were also multiple entertainment stages set up throughout the venue, dedicated to various gaming related things.
Simon, Josh and Tobi from YouTube group the Sidemen take on community challengers on the Creator Stage.
The Creator Hub hosted a creator main stage, where panels were held as well as competitions between creators and community. Hundreds of content creators were in attendance, including appearances from popular YouTube groups Sidemen and The Bov Boys, who spent the weekend participating in gameplay challenges as well as meet and greet opportunities.
Cosplay was also a part of the celebration, with artists taking to the stage to display their prowess and the chance to compete for a share of the prize money – a collective total of £8000 across all tiers, catering for different skill levels.
Cosplay was a part of the celebrations at DreamHack Birmingham 2026, with various events available for artists of all skill levels.
DreamHack Birmingham 2026 Esports
While not the only attraction of a DreamHack festival, esports played a huge part in the weekend. Multiple stages were dedicated to high stakes tournaments, with a prize pool total of £1.3M across the weekend.
DreamHack Birmingham 2026 was host to the start of the F1 Sim Racing 2026 championship, a mid-season tournament in the Call of Duty: Warzone Resurgence Series, Road to EWC qualifiers in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Street Fighter 6 and Trackmania, as well as an ESL One tournament in Dota 2. While I won’t embarrass myself and pretend to know anything about the world of esports, there is a more detailed overview available.
Multiple tournaments took place over the weekend, with over £1M up for grabs in total prize winnings.
When Is DreamHack Birmingham 2027?
DreamHack Birmingham 2027 will take place on 2-4th April 2027. It will once again take place at the NEC, and while it is still early days to have had any more details confirmed, you can sign up to receive future updates and be notified early about tickets going on sale.
