Hub8 MX in Cheltenham served as the official Venue Partner for the UK Cyber Team Live Final 2026, welcoming 40 of the country’s top security talent to compete at the heart of the UK’s security corridor.
On 16 May 2026, one of the most competitive days in the UK security calendar took place not at a conference centre, but at a co-working space in Cheltenham town centre.
Hub8 MX hosted the UK Cyber Team Live Final 2026, bringing together 40 competitors for a high-stakes day of practical security challenges. The room that regularly hosts member meetups, Google Cloud panels, and CyNam networking events was reconfigured into a competition venue: full house, screen up, assessors in place.
It was a signal of something bigger. Cheltenham is not just home to GCHQ, it is increasingly the place where the UK security sector’s next generation gets tested, trained, and spotted.
What Is the UK Cyber Team?
The UK Cyber Team is the national programme that identifies and develops the country’s top security talent through competitive selection. Participants go through qualifying stages before reaching a live final where they tackle realistic, complex security scenarios under pressure and in real time.
The UK Cyber Team Live Final 2026 brought together 40 competitors, assessed by a panel that included specialists from organisations such as NCC Group. Sponsors included BAE Systems, the National Cyber Force, The Cyber Scheme, and Cybermas, a lineup that reflects the seriousness and national significance of the programme.
For many competitors, reaching the Live Final is the start of a path into careers within government, defence, or the wider security industry.
Why Cheltenham, and Why Hub8?
Cheltenham has a credible claim to being the UK’s most important security city outside London. GCHQ is based here. Hub8 GC sits adjacent to it. The Cyber Runway programme has used Hub8 MX as an event base. CyNam, the region’s cyber and tech network, is headquartered here. Google Cloud has held events here.
The decision to host the UK Cyber Team Live Final in Cheltenham reflects where the sector’s weight sits, and Hub8 MX’s role as a flexible, well-connected venue for events that carry real industry significance.
Hub8 MX is a purpose-built co-working and event space in the Minster Exchange development on Chester Walk, at the centre of the town. Beyond co-working, the space regularly hosts national security events, panel discussions, competitions, and workshops. The UK Cyber Team Live Final was one of the most high-profile events the space has hosted to date.
What the Event Looked Like
Forty competitors. Assessors across multiple tables. High-pressure scenarios designed to test skills across offensive and defensive security disciplines.
The same room has hosted a production shoot for Nomadic and a standing-room evening for a Hub8 Connect speaker session. For the Live Final, it was configured as a competition space: the kind of setup that requires reliable infrastructure, flexible layout, and a team that knows how to make an event work.
Hub8 MX has a 200-person standing capacity, a 100-inch screen, and AV infrastructure suitable for broadcast and live event formats. More practically, it is staffed, supported, and positioned inside a community where security is not a niche, it is the default.
The Bigger Picture for Cheltenham’s Security Community
The UK Cyber Team Live Final joins a growing list of nationally significant events that have called Hub8 MX home. In the last 12 months alone, the space has hosted:
- The Digital Deception youth event, run by Plexal’s Cyber Runway programme in partnership with CyNam, for 15 to 18-year-olds exploring deepfakes and online security
- A Google Cloud AI and national resilience event focused on sovereignty and infrastructure security
- Hub8 Connect sessions with speakers from GCHQ, CommonAI, and Jo Miller, Chair of CyNam and Microsoft National Security Officer
Each of these draws from the same logic: Cheltenham already has the people, the organisations, and the community. Hub8 MX is where they gather.
The UK Cyber Team Live Final adds competitive talent development to that picture. Cheltenham is not just a place where security professionals work, it is where the next generation gets identified.
Hosting National Security Events at Hub8 MX
The UK Cyber Team Live Final 2026 demonstrated exactly the kind of event Hub8 MX is built for: high-stakes, specialist, and nationally significant.
For organisations looking to run security competitions, workshops, or sector events in the Cheltenham area, Hub8 MX offers more than a room hire. The venue sits inside a co-working community of 500+ members from 60+ companies, spanning early-stage startups, scaleups, enterprises, and government-adjacent organisations.
That community context matters for event credibility. Sponsors, assessors, and attendees are walking into a space that is already embedded in the sector, not a hired conference room that happens to have a projector.
Hub8 MX also has a track record with events that have national reach and specialist audiences: the kind that require discretion, proper infrastructure, and a venue team that understands the sector it is working in.
If you are planning a security event in 2026, whether a competition, a roundtable, a hackathon, or a showcase, Hub8 MX is worth a conversation. Get in touch: HelloMX@hub8and.co
Hosting the UK Cyber Team Live Final was a natural fit for Hub8 MX. The venue, the location, and the community it sits inside are all pointing in the same direction: Cheltenham as a home for serious security activity, from daily co-working to nationally watched competitions.
For the 40 competitors who came through the door on 16 May, the setting was appropriate. Cheltenham does not need to pretend to be a security hub. It already is one.
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