Our first ticket drop has sold out, but fear not — we have two more coming up. Mark your calendars:

📅 27th April at 19:00
📅 10th May at 00:01 (hopefully making grabbing a ticket a little easier for the shift workers among us!)

The more eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that whilst the first general release of tickets aren’t available just yet, the ARE imminent!

Out eventrbrite ticket page has an FAQ which includes

When will the ticket drops happen?

We’re expecting to do 3 drops this year – 10th April @13:37, 27th April @7pm and 10th May at 00:01am.

This is subject to change – all will be announced on socials. We’re trying to spread them over times/dates to allow the maximum possible chance and be as fair as possible to give everyone a chance.

So, keep yours eyes on our social channels, as it’s almost time

We weren’t the first cybersecurity event to introduce villages, but they’ve been part of BSides Leeds since day one.

Alongside our established villages, such as lockpicking, car hacking, and battlebots, which are returning this year, we’re opening our first official Call for Villages. This is your opportunity to pitch how you’d use the space.

Whether you’re planning a full interactive experience, a series of hands-on activities, or simply a small demo, or simple tabletop show-and-tell, we’d love to hear your ideas.

Space is limited, so we can only accommodate a select number of proposals, but if you’ve got something interesting, creative, or a bit different, we encourage you to apply.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Wjn7mTMmsWZ9cBuxenRV2jRiJs-_NKiivd9xV-VOqmM/edit

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Our CFP is now closed, and the response has been staggering, we received submissions from more than 80 speakers!

We’re now moving into the review phase, supported by a panel of experienced cybersecurity speakers. Each submission is reviewed blind, and with so many high-quality proposals, this process will take a little time.

After that comes the difficult task of shaping the final programme, balancing topics, experience levels, and perspectives to create the best possible event.

If your talk isn’t selected, please don’t be discouraged. Decisions are often driven by programme balance rather than the quality of individual submissions. We strongly encourage you to submit to other BSides events, or similar conferences such as SteelCon and Hack Glasgow.

Experienced speakers – We need you!

We are looking for speaker mentors to support our brand-new speakers who have requested one.

Our CFP is still open for another week, so feel free to submit a talk, but if you are also keen to mentor the next generation of speakers, drop us a message at bsidesleeds23@gmail.com

#SpeakersWanted#CFP#Mentoring

Since day one, BSides Leeds has been about more than just the usual cyber conference crowd. We’ve always wanted it to be a space for people who might not normally attend, whether that’s because of cost, confidence, or just feeling like these events aren’t “for them”.

We’ve spoken before about things like speaker diversity, our code of conduct, social interaction indicators, and having quiet and prayer rooms. But something we’ve quietly done from the start is set aside free, discounted, and reserved tickets for groups that are under-represented in cyber and the wider hacker community.

We usually reach out to groups we already know, but we know there are plenty we don’t. If that’s you, please drop us a message. We’d love to chat about how we can support you and make the event more accessible.

The same goes for speaking. If you, or people in your community, have thought about giving a talk but feel a bit unsure about putting yourselves forward, we’ve got you. We offer mentoring for first-time speakers, and with our growing network, we may even be able to pair you with someone who really gets your background or perspective.

We’re always trying to make each year better than the last. If you’ve got feedback, especially from the perspective of an under-represented group, we’re all ears.

We’re looking for talks that explore the strategy, competition and the mindset behind Cyber Security – From Offensive Tradecraft and Defensive Resilience to Adversarial Thinking, Risk, and real-world lessons learned.

If your talk fits the theme, fantastic! If it doesn’t, we still want to hear from you anyway! If you want to inspire the community, teach new skills, or share your insight, submit your talks at http://bsidesleeds.com/cfp .

CFP Deadline: 31/03/2026

We’ve hinted at it. We’ve teased it. Now it’s official.

The BSides Leeds 2026 theme is Game On.

Before anyone jumps to conclusions, no, we’re not turning into a gaming convention, and we’ll still be full to the brim with the best of our community delivering the top quality cyber and hacking talks and villages you come to expect.

“Game On” isn’t about just video games. It’s about play, competition, strategy, challenge, participation. It’s gamification and game theory. It’s quiz shows and board games. It’s CTFs, scavenger hunts, and yes, maybe even tiddlywinks. It’s deliberately broad, because the hacker mindset has always thrived on games.

The spark came at Las Vegas airport after Def Con. A few of us were talking about how much we’d enjoyed newer panel and quiz formats like “Feet Feud” and “Um, ACKtually,” hosted by Tib3rius. They didn’t just sit alongside the legendary Hacker Jeopardy that Lintile ran for years, they felt like a passing of the torch. A new generation embracing the late-night, audience-participation chaos that makes hacker conferences special.

That conversation led to a simple question: we’d had Lintile run Hacker Blockbusters at BSides Leeds back in 2018, so why not lean into that energy again, now with Tib3rius?

Very quickly, we found ourselves designing game shows with unrepeatable titles and questionable health-and-safety implications (“what do you mean we can’t give hackers darts?”). Meanwhile, the younger members of the team looked increasingly concerned at references to Patrick Moore, Samantha Janus, Wayne’s World, and Jim Bowen.

Then we got back to the UK and reviewed feedback from last year.

Within the first few comments:

• “Why didn’t you have the retro hacking/gaming village this year?”
• Suggestions to expand and improve the Scavenger Hunt.
• Disappointment that the CTF didn’t return.

The message was clear. Hackers love games, however you define them.

Competition. Collaboration. Curiosity. Creativity. That’s what makes this community tick.

So in 2026, we’re leaning into it.

Game On!

Updates to our website are now automatically posted to our discord at https://discord.gg/x2XtUuH76j , so discord users need never miss an update again!

Introducing our 2026 Game Master: Tib3rius ​!

The secret is out! As we gear up for BSides Leeds 2026, we’re excited to announce that Tib3rius will be joining us this year as our Game Master.

Tib3rius is a renowned security educator and content creator who has helped thousands of hackers level up their skills. You might recognise him from his weekly hacking streams on Twitch or his deep-dive tutorials on YouTube.

He’s also responsible for several of the DefCon Gameshows including Feet Feud.

He’ll be overseeing the competitive spirit of this year’s event, bringing his unique blend of expertise and ensuring the games remain fair (just don’t count his fingers).