Mark the date! LHC inauguration and LHC-Fest CERN, Tuesday 21 October 2008
"For a long time we will remember the year 2008, an important year for CERN. as it marks the achievement of the LHC, a great tool for future discoveries, and the completion of exceptional works that demanded the commitment and motivation of many… a remarkable motivation," declared Director-General Robert Aymar during a recent interview.
To celebrate this historical milestone in this very important "Big Science" project, CERN has organised two events on October 21: the LHC official inauguration and the LHC-fest.
The LHC official inauguration will take place from 14h00 to 18h00, at Point 18 of the Laboratory, in the presence of the highest representatives from the member states of CERN and representatives from the other communities and authorities of the countries participating in the LHC adventure. 300 members from the international press are also expected, giving a total of 1500 guests. The ceremony will be broadcast live in the Laboratory’s main conference rooms, via webcast and satellite TV (Eurovision).
The LHC-fest will follow in the evening in the same place. Its purpose is to, "thank all the actors – physicists, engineers, technicians and administrators – who took part in the design, construction, implementation and commissioning of this great enterprise." For obvious logistical reasons, it has been necessary to limit the number of invited guests to 3000, to include all members of personnel (blue badge holders), representatives of the LHC experiments and other users, as well as representatives from retired staff and industrial support.
Innovation will be the motif of the two events, as CERN has always pushed forward the frontiers of technology to build ever more sophisticated tools too meet the needs of high energy physics, far beyond industrial know-how.. Among the highlights on the programme are:
- ORIGINS, a multimedia visual concert, which has been especially created for CERN by world known photographer Frans Lanting, with original music by Philip Glass, played by the Suisse Romande Orchestra and conducted by Carolyn Kuan.
- A molecular cuisine buffet, at the frontier of gastronomy, prepared by internationally renowned chefs for the inauguration ceremony.
For more information on the programme and its highlights, see forthcoming Weekly Bulletins and the dedicated website:
