"A conference in the UK?" I thought, "Must investigate." This is what I found:

TEDGlobal Conference Membership

Price: $6,000 / year

Requirements: All attendees must apply for membership. Due to limited seating and high demand, conferences sell out very quickly.

Benefits

• Attending the TEDGlobal Conference
• Online social networking: Create a profile page and Join the year-round TED Conference private social network. Interact with other members and find out automatically the people you need to meet onsite.
• Conference video archive: A password-protected web video archive of the conference that lets you relive every moment -- made available soon after the conference

There's a note about the fair market value being $2500 and the rest tax deductable...which may be true under US Tax Law, but probably isn't under UK Tax Law.

Looks like you already have to be there to be able to benefit. Luke 19:26

Back in the early 1980's I was working at a university and it hit me one day that what would be great for students (and anyone interested in a subject) would be to videotape the class lectures and then pick out the ones that seemed outstanding. Then make these available for students to check out to review any particular class lecture they had difficulty with.

Well, in the last 10 years or so, I found out there are companies that do this. There was/is the Portable professor (audio lectures only, I think) and there is "The Teaching Company." It has been mentioned in a couple of threads before. Since, I've also discovered several universities do exactly what I was thinking about and offer those lectures on the web for free.

We truly live in an information age. The only problem is, sometimes, information can be overwhelming and disorganized. Sometimes, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack, to find the particular information you are seeking.

TED appears to be more motivational rather than informational. But it is a great idea, just like being able to attend a college lecture online or on DVD is also great.