SC26 in Chicago: dates, exhibit hours and the November TOP500 list

SC26, the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis, runs from 15 to 20 November 2026 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The new TOP500 list of the world's fastest supercomputers is traditionally announced during SC week, and based on the last two years it should land on Monday 16 November 2026. As of 30 October 2026, TOP500 has not published a date for it.

SC26 dates and venue

According to the official SC26 site, the conference takes place in Chicago, Illinois, at McCormick Place. The program page lists the technical program for Sunday to Friday, 15-20 November 2026. Chicago is on Central Standard Time (UTC-6) in November, so 10:00 local is 16:00 UTC.

Programme highlights listed by the organisers as of October 2026:

• Monday: the "HPC Unites" plenary panel on opening day.
• Tuesday: the keynote; invited talks run Tuesday to Thursday.
• Thursday: the awards ceremony and awardee presentations.

Individual session times sit in the online schedule, which was still empty for key sessions when we checked on 30 October 2026.

Exhibit hall hours

The exhibits page gives this timetable (Central Time):

• Sunday 15 November: exhibitor reception, 6:30-9:30 pm
• Monday 16 November: Grand Opening Gala Reception, 7-9 pm
• Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 November: exhibits open 10 am-6 pm
• Thursday 19 November: exhibits open 10 am-3 pm

Exhibitor applications for SC26 are closed, according to the organisers.

When the November TOP500 list is released

TOP500 publishes two lists a year: one at ISC in Hamburg in June and one at SC in November. The TOP500 news archive shows the 66th list announced on 17 November 2025 at SC25 and the 64th on 18 November 2024 at SC24, both on the Monday of conference week. SC26 opens on Sunday 15 November, so the equivalent Monday is 16 November 2026. Treat that as the expected date, not a confirmed one, and check top500.org on the day.

What the current list looks like

The 67th list, announced on 23 June 2026 at ISC, has a new leader. On the June 2026 list, the top five are:

1. LineShine, National Supercomputing Centre in Shenzhen, China: 2,198.40 PFlop/s
2. El Capitan, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, US: 1,809.00 PFlop/s
3. Frontier, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US: 1,353.00 PFlop/s
4. Aurora, Argonne National Laboratory, US: 1,012.00 PFlop/s
5. JUPITER Booster, EuroHPC/FZJ, Germany: 1,000.00 PFlop/s

TOP500 also reported that LineShine took first place in the HPCG ranking at 22.00 PFlop/s.

How the ranking works

Systems are ranked by Rmax, the best performance they reach on High-Performance Linpack (HPL), a benchmark that solves a dense system of linear equations. One exaflop is 1,000 PFlop/s. HPCG, a separate test that stresses memory and communication, usually produces much lower numbers, which is why LineShine's 22.00 PFlop/s HPCG result sits far below its HPL score. The Green500 re-ranks the same machines by energy efficiency.

What to watch on 16 November

• Whether LineShine keeps first place or another system passes the 2 exaflop mark.
• Whether more systems join the exascale group, which has five entries on the June list.
• Changes in the Green500 and HPCG rankings.

For the chips behind these machines, see our chips coverage, and for other dated shows, the conferences section and the wider Events desk. Our HBM4 vs HBM3E explainer covers the memory used in many current accelerators.

Frequently asked questions

When is SC26?

15-20 November 2026 at McCormick Place, Chicago.

When is the exhibit hall open?

Tuesday and Wednesday, 17-18 November, 10 am-6 pm; Thursday 19 November, 10 am-3 pm, Central Time, per the organisers.

When is the November 2026 TOP500 list published?

No date was published as of 30 October 2026. Recent November lists came out on the Monday of SC week, which points to 16 November 2026.

Which supercomputer is number one now?

LineShine in Shenzhen, at 2,198.40 PFlop/s on the June 2026 list.