SQLBits 2026 is Going Back to Newport, Wales.
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SQLBits 2026 will be back at the International Convention Center Wales in Newport on April 22-25, and I’ll be there!
Bits was there in 2023, and they’ve got a recap video showing the venue.
This location is a little tricky for us Yanks: here’s where it’s at on Google Maps. For international visitors, you’ve got a few options:
- Fly into London Heathrow, then take a 3-hour train to Newport. This is the option I chose because there are non-stop flights from Vegas to Heathrow. I’ll fly into London arriving April 19, spend a day and a half in London, and then take the train over to Newport on Tuesday the 21st, the day before the conference. After the conference, I’ll catch the train back and fly out of Heathrow on Sunday.
- Fly into Cardiff (CWL, 15 mi away) or Bristol (BRS, 30 mi away), and take a taxi or train. If I lived on the East coast of the US, I’d check into this option, because there are affordable flights out of places like Atlanta. Nothing for Vegas though.
- Fly into London, then rent a car. I wouldn’t recommend this unless you wanna spend more than a week roaming around the UK, and can take your time gradually getting used to driving on the other side of the road. It’s way more challenging than you might expect. I’m a pretty good driver – I’ve never been ticketed for an accident – but I had multiple close calls driving in England and the Isle of Man.
You don’t really want a car during the conference. This year, Bits is selling packages with your hotel room included, and they’re looking at getting buses to take you to/from your hotel. If you stay at the Celtic Manor, you can just walk over to the ICC.
Plus, while you’re at the conference, the idea of this year’s event is to be really involved in the after-hours events at the venue itself. I’ll be at all of ’em this year.
When SQLBits is in London, the after-hours events like the Pub Quiz and the party aren’t very well-attended for a few reasons. Local transportation in London is kind of a pain in the butt, there are so many other distractions in London, and at the end of the day, a lot of locals just go home. In Newport, the venue is more all-encompassing: you’re going out there to have a good time with your fellow attendees during the day, AND after hours.
Early bird registrations will open up this month, and it’s time to start thinking about what sessions to submit. These days, there are so many tech topics: AI, Fabric, Azure, AWS, SQL Server 2025, and timeless dev & DBA topics. I need to think about what to submit, so I’ll put it to you, dear reader: what would be the topic that would compel your boss to whip out the credit card and buy your conference registration and plane ticket?
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However, sometimes when I’m looking at the output of sp_BlitzCache, I scroll across to the Average Rows column and double-check that the query’s actually returning a reasonable number of rows out in the wild.
You’ve looked around locally, but the local options seem to be irrelevant to your needs. It’s generic stuff like how to pass certification classes, or boot camps to get your first DBA job.
