Sight Village Birmingham

 Sight Village is the UK's leading exhibition for people living with sight loss. Providing multiple exhibitions throughout the year in various locations and hosted by Queen Alexandra College (QAC), the event has been running for over 30 years. It is a great opportunity for charities, technology developers, educators, and community members to come together to learn more and share ideas and find out that changes need to be made to make their services more accessible. 

 

A national exhibition 

Despite hosting exhibitions all over the UK people regularly travel across the island to experience what each different venue has to offer. Although the same organisation hosts each event, there is always a different sponsor and different exhibitors. 

This year, the flagship event in Birmingham took place at the Eastside Rooms on Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th July. The Eastside Rooms was selected to be the venue because it has a spacious layout which makes it ideal for easy navigation, which is an essential feature for an event designed for people who are blind and low vision. For many visitors, this is the one event that they will attend where accessibility is the foundation not an afterthought. The event is intentionally designed to be fully inclusive, with wide aisles, clear signage, and staff who are specifically trained to support visitors with different access needs. 

 

An opportunity to explore assistive technology

Sight Village is always bustling with exhibitors showcasing the latest advancements is assistive technology. From screen readers and magnifiers to cutting-edge wearable devices and AI inventions. With the opportunity to try technology that you are on the fence about, before making the leap to purchase it and integrate it into your day-to-day life, Sight Village is the ideal place to explore. 

 

An opportunity to meet leading organisations

With Sight Village being the only events of its kind in the UK, exhibitors are always fighting for a chance to attend. With everything from charities to tech companies to education providers and mobility specialists. There is something for everyone. 

 

Testing products

Everyone who is exhibiting brings the technology that members of the community can get hands on with. In fact, the exhibitors encourage it. Without this opportunity, many people wouldn't know what technology would actually help them.

 

Learn about new developments 

Alongside the exhibition, there is the choice to attend seminars that inform you about advancements and emerging innovations in accessibility and inclusive design. 

 

Connect with experts

At every Sight Village event, there it the opportunity to connect with specialists in their fields. From mobility trainers from organisations such as Guide Dogs to tech developers. 

 

A community hub, not just an exhibition 

Sight Village has always been more than just a trade show. It's a place where everyone living with sight loss is in one place with the

opportunity to share experiences, tips, and tricks. With a welcoming

atmosphere, and plenty of opportunities to start a conversation about living with sight loss. 

 

Looking ahead

With a few events still to come in the 2026 calendar, including... 

• North Wales - Llandudno - Tuesday 22nd September
• London - Tuesday 27th October
• London - Wednesday 28th October

Let us take a look back on what happened at Sight Village Birmingham  

 

Birmingham 2026 - 7th July

With exhibitors travelling internationally to attend the exhibitions and showcase their technology there was so much to explore. From braille technology and low vision solutions with HumanWare, Sight and Sound and VisionAid to smartphones with Synapptic. Exploring the exhibition, you can find various opportunities, ranging from travel and sport to education and employment. There is new information for everyone to gather. 

Whether you decide to visit a Sight Village event by yourself or with a friend or family member, you will always be welcomed warmly by the

organisers. 

When you visit the event there is the opportunity to attend seminars hosted by the exhibitors. They run throughout the day and are always about interesting topics. Seminar topics at the Birmingham event included: Supercharge your education with AI (TPT), Ban the iPad? Exploring how we prepare young VI for a future of employment (Blind in Business), and Seeing in the dark: How Luna Glass supports night blindness (Luna Team)

 

Personal experience

Having had the opportunity to explore multiple of the sight village events over the past couple of years, if someone was on the fence about attending, I would tell them to go, there is so much to find out and try. Personally, I found that being able to explore the available tech in person and see how it actually works and how it could help me is really beneficial rather than just researching the technology online and deciding to purchase it. Although it is a really busy event, there is so much to see and do and always a way to find a quiet place to chat to the people that you came with about what you have experienced or talk to the people that you have met at the event if that is something you want to do.