Held at London's Excel, New Scientist Live is a multi-award-winning event, widely recognised as the UK's largest science festival, gathering world-leading scientists, innovators and organisations to inspire the next generation through hands-on experiences and discovery.

All five UK Quantum Technology Hubs came together for the event to showcase Quantum City – the newly relaunched and rebranded public outreach initiative of the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme. Together, the exhibits demonstrated the diverse ways in which quantum technologies are moving from the laboratory into the real world, delivering tangible benefits across a range of sectors.

Visitors had the opportunity to explore a wide range of hands-on demonstrations showcasing the breadth of quantum research and innovation taking place across the UK quantum ecosystem:

*Representing the work of the Integrated Quantum Networks (IQN) Hub, demonstrations included quantum interference and single-photon experiments, illustrating the principles behind quantum-secure communications and how quantum technologies will transform the future of secure information exchange.

*Researchers from the Quantum Computing via Integrated and Interconnected Implementations (QCi3) Hub showcased atomic lattices, providing an insight into the fundamental science underpinning the development of future quantum computers.

*The UK Quantum Biomedical Sensing Research Hub (Q-BIOMED) demonstrated nanodiamond sensing technologies, highlighting their potential applications in healthcare and biomedical research.

*Visitors were also able to experience cutting-edge technologies from the UK Quantum Technology Hub in Sensing, Imaging and Timing (QuSIT) Hub, including wearable brain scanners, quantum-enabled radar systems and gravity sensing technologies, demonstrating how quantum technologies can be used to measure and image the world with precision.

*Meanwhile, the Quantum Enabled Position, Navigation and Timing (QEPNT) Hub presented advanced 3D time-of-flight imaging technologies, showcasing how quantum-enabled approaches will enhance positioning, navigation and imaging capabilities across a range of sectors.

The exhibiting teams met with more than 2,000 visitors over three days reflecting a high level of public interest in quantum technologies. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with comments from children including descriptions such as “creative, inspirational and extraordinary”.

A huge thank you is due to the enthusiastic, knowledgeable and tireless researchers who joined us throughout the event. Colleagues joined us from Heriot-Watt University, Imperial College London, the National Physical Laboratory, University College London, the Universities of Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield, Strathclyde and Warwick, and all played a vital role in bringing the exhibits to life.