Decision: For a software-flavoured trip, anchor on Hello Stavanger (Wed–Thu, Oct 21–22) — Stavanger’s only home-grown software conference, walkable to the city centre [1]. Pick ONS (Mon–Thu, Aug 24–27) if your interest is AI/digital in energy — by far the largest event of the year, with a real Digital Transformation track [2] [3]. Skip the rest of 2026’s headline tech events: ERF, Energy Norway and Nordic Edge Expo all wrapped up before late May. Weekend-pairing notes at the bottom.
What’s still upcoming in 2026
| Dates | Event | Focus | Scale & venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 24–27 Mon–Thu | ONS 2026 | Energy + digital transformation, AI in operations, subsurface ML | ~72k visitors, Stavanger Forum [2] [3] |
| Sep 10 Thu | HealthTech Festival | Health-system efficiency, robotics & automation, dual-use / defence | Half-day, HelseCampus Stavanger [4] |
| Oct 21–22 Wed–Thu | Hello Stavanger 2026 | Software dev — AI/LLM, DevOps, security, architecture, testing, UX | 3rd edition, Tou Scene [1] [5] |
The three to actually plan around
Hello Stavanger is the natural pick for an IT-conference visit. Launched October 2024 as the first software conference in Stavanger [14], now in its third edition. The 2026 CFP scope spans Agile, Architecture, Coding, DevOps, AI/LLM, Security, Testing, UX — CFP closed May 3, 2026 [5]. Tou Scene is a converted brewery in Stavanger East, ~10 minutes’ walk from the city centre [14].
ONS is a different animal — a 4-day energy mega-event, not a “tech conference” in the developer sense, but the Digital Transformation track (Theme 4) covers AI-driven operational excellence and breaking data barriers between operators and suppliers, with subsurface AI/ML and digitalisation strands across Themes 1–3 [3]. The Strategic Conference frames “AI in action – building operational brilliance” as one of its 2026 challenges; the overall theme is “Courage” [2]. Scale: 72k+ visitors, 1,100+ exhibitors, 1,150+ speakers, 102 countries [2]. ⚠ Hotel pricing during ONS is brutal — book months out or stay outside the city.
HealthTech Festival – Stavanger is a single morning (9:30–13:30) at HelseCampus Stavanger / Innovasjonsparken; relevant if your interest is robotics/automation in health, or the dual-use angle (preparedness, defence) [4]. One session inside a longer trip, not the anchor.
Already happened in 2026 — recurs annually, watch for 2027
All three wrapped up before this research’s date (2026-05-28):
- European Robotics Forum 2026 — Mar 23–27, Stavanger Forum. 1,000+ delegates, theme “Robotics for the blue economy and growth in space”, heavy on AI governance, field robotics, underwater tech [6]. ERF rotates host cities — the next edition will be elsewhere in Europe.
- Energy Norway 2026 — Apr 28–29 at the University of Stavanger (Tjodhallen, Kjølv Egeland’s house). NCS2030’s annual subsurface-energy + digitalisation conference, more academic than ONS [7].
- Nordic Edge Expo 2026 — May 4–6 at Fiskepiren. Cross-sectoral smart-cities / regenerative-society expo, with a smart-city cluster, agritech cluster, and the EDIH Oceanopolis digital innovation hub on the floor [8]. Annual; returns early May 2027.
Local meetups — what runs year-round
Active Stavanger tech communities you can hit on a weekday evening [12]:
| Group | Members | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Stavanger Software Developers Meetup | 667 | Generalist dev community, broad topics [10] |
| Stavanger Security Hangout | 330 | Infosec talks + CTFs at The Irishman pub [11] |
| javaBin Stavanger | 330 | Norwegian Java User Group chapter [9] |
| Hello Stavanger meetup | 279 | Conference satellite events [13] |
| Stavanger Agile Meetup, Smart City (IoT), Cyber Security for Control Systems | varies | Niche / industry-specific [12] |
The Stavanger Security Hangout cadence is the most predictable — regular meetups at The Irishman pub with presentations, workshops and CTFs; the most recent was CVE-2026-2904 in late April with 13 attendees [11].
Pairing a conference with a weekend
All three remaining 2026 conferences sit mid-week (Mon–Thu or Wed–Thu). Three workable shapes:
- Hello Stavanger long weekend — fly in Tue Oct 20, conference Wed–Thu, stay through Sat–Sun Oct 24–25. Best fit for a “tech + culture” trip; Tou Scene is in walking distance of restaurants and waterfront [14].
- ONS bookend — either Fri–Sun Aug 21–23 before (lower hotel pressure, attend Mon onward) or Fri–Sun Aug 28–30 after. Avoid arriving mid-event; rooms inside the city are saturated by 72k visitors ⚠ [2].
- HealthTech morning — book a normal Thu–Sun, attend the half-day Sep 10, dinner that evening, weekend in town [4].
⚠ Gotcha: the EIC Summit (Jun 3–4) appears on Stavanger Region’s events calendar but actually takes place in Brussels (Tour & Taxis), not Stavanger — the regional partners syndicate the listing without flagging the venue [15]. It is not a Stavanger trip.