Micro:bit marks 10 years with digital wave at Hereford

The Micro:bit Educational Foundation marked the 10th anniversary of the BBC micro:bit with a live digital Mexican wave at Hereford FC, bringing together 200 participants of different ages and backgrounds.

Children, educators, local residents and students from the Royal National College for the Blind took part in the artwork, called micro:wave, in the stands at Hereford Football Club. Each participant used a micro:bit, a small programmable computer, to trigger a synchronised movement across the stand using wireless radio signals.

The installation was designed so participants could respond to sound, light and vibration cues, allowing blind and partially sighted people to take part alongside the wider group.

The event marked a decade since the device was launched across the UK in 2016, when up to one million free units were distributed to Year 7 pupils. Since then, the organisation has reached 73.5 million young people in more than 85 countries through activities designed to develop digital skills.

The work at Hereford FC was developed through workshops led by Dr Emma Posey, artist and programme manager at the Micro:bit Educational Foundation. Local young people co-created the movement patterns used in the final performance.

Participants included pupils from Lord Scudamore Academy and local community groups. The project, known as we:create, was hosted by Hereford FC and developed in collaboration with Dr Sam Tygier and Lizzie Salmon of the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Other organisations involved were Hereford College of Arts, the Royal National College for the Blind and the Sidney Nolan Trust. Grant support came from Herefordshire Community Foundation.

Accessibility focus

The Hereford artwork centred on physical computing rather than screen-based interaction. As radio signals passed between the devices, the wave moved through the crowd in real time, turning coded instructions into a shared public performance.

The format also reflected the foundation's broader effort to present computing as a practical and creative activity, rather than only a classroom exercise. The micro:bit is widely used in schools to teach coding and electronics through simple tasks involving sensors, lights and wireless communication.

Dr Emma Posey, artist and programme manager at the Micro:bit Educational Foundation, said: "Marking 10 years of the micro:bit by bringing generations together has been truly special. Seeing primary pupils and older community members standing side by side in the stand, using code to spark this live digital Mexican wave, shows just how accessible and creative technology can be. It is a brilliant demonstration of what happens when you empower an entire community to create art together."

Global milestone

The anniversary comes as the foundation seeks to widen the reach of the device and its teaching materials. Its target is to reach 100 million young people worldwide by 2028.

The micro:bit was originally introduced as part of a UK initiative to encourage more children to engage with coding and computational thinking. It has since been adopted in classrooms and community projects internationally, often as an entry point for pupils learning how software can interact with physical objects.

Gareth Stockdale, chief executive officer of the Micro:bit Educational Foundation, said: "Marking ten years of the micro:bit with this incredible digital wave is a proud milestone for all of us. Over the past decade, our goal has been to inspire children to move from simply consuming technology to understanding, questioning and creating with it. Today's celebration at Hereford FC captured the true spirit of physical computing. By bringing generations together to build something fun and tangible, we're showing that technology can bring communities together, and that the micro:bit continues to equip young people with the foundational skills, creativity and confidence they need to thrive as technology evolves."

Following the Hereford event, the organisation is developing an open-source community toolkit so schools and community groups can create similar participatory art projects using the micro:bit's radio functions.