The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) has announced a major venue change for its flagship annual event. The 40th Chaos Communication Congress (40C3), scheduled for December 27–30, 2026, will move from the Congress Center Hamburg (CCH) to the larger Messehallen (Hamburg trade fair grounds) — ending an eight-year residency at the CCH.
Why the Move
The primary driver is simple: growth. The CCH, which hosted the congress since the return to in-person events after the pandemic, has hit its capacity limits. The CCC says that high attendee density forced cuts to free space — there wasn’t enough room for decentralized projects, workshops, rest zones, or community-driven parties. The organization’s requests for dedicated spaces were increasingly going unmet.
The Messehallen offer significantly more floor area, allowing the CCC to return to a more distributed layout reminiscent of the pre-pandemic Leipzig era.
What to Expect at 40C3
The congress theme will be "Model Citizens" — positioned as a platform for developing new societal models. The CCC emphasizes that differences are a strength and that collaborative problem-solving is central to the event’s identity.
Key changes at the new venue:
- Habitats: Decentralized groups will receive dedicated "habitat" spaces for their own workshops, talks, and exhibitions — a return to the room-for-everyone model - Gradual expansion: The CCC insists on growing slowly to preserve the event’s communicative character, avoiding the feeling of being lost in vast empty halls - Stable pricing: Ticket prices will remain comparable to previous years (a standard 39C3 ticket cost €190), with only inflation-adjusted increases - No commercial presence: Advertising and sales booths remain excluded
The CCC expects 16,000+ participants, supported by thousands of volunteer "angels" who run the event.
The 39C3 in Retrospect
The previous edition demonstrated the congress’s continuing relevance as a security research venue. Highlights included analysis of the "Cyberdome" and the flood of AI-generated "slop," a demonstration of vulnerabilities in humanoid robots (from radio takeover to AI model jailbreaking), and discovery of additional security flaws in Germany’s KIM secure email system for physicians.
Why It Matters
The Chaos Communication Congress is the world’s largest non-commercial hacker gathering and a bellwether for the European hacker and security community. The venue change reflects both the community’s growth and its determination to maintain the decentralized, participant-driven format that distinguishes it from corporate tech conferences. The move to Messehallen also signals that the post-pandemic recovery of in-person hacker events is well and truly complete.
