 | |
| Formation | 2007; 18 years ago (2007) |
|---|---|
| Founder | |
| Purpose | Educational, events |
| Products | Festivals |
| Fields | Science, astronomy |
| Website | starmus |
TheStarmus International Festival is an international gathering focused on celebrating astronomy, space exploration, music, art, and the natural sciences. It was founded by astronomer / amateur musicianGarik Israelian and musician / astrophysicistBrian May. The festival has featured multiple well-known astronauts and astronomers.
The first festival took place from 20 to 25 June 2011 on Tenerife andLa Palma, Canary Islands with the theme "50 Years of Man in Space." In 2014, the bookStarmus: 50 Years of Man in Space was published covering the content of the festival.[1][2]
The second festival occurred 22 to 27 September 2014, on Tenerife and La Palma, Canary Islands with the theme "Beginnings: The Making of the Modern Cosmos." The Government of Tenerife announced that the equivalent publicity value from Starmus Festival II (2014) exceeds 170 million euros and that the festival reached 2.4 billion people worldwide.[3]
The third festival took place in the Canary Islands, on Tenerife and La Palma from 27 June to 2 July 2016 with the theme of "Beyond The Horizon: A Tribute To Stephen Hawking". The festival featured numerous scientists and science communicators includingStephen Hawking,Brian Cox,Richard Dawkins,Brian May, and 11Nobel laureates.[4][5]
Starmus III held the inaugural awards ceremony for recipients of theStephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication. The award recipients (chosen by Hawking himself) were composer Hans Zimmer, physicistJim Al-Khalili and the science documentaryParticle Fever.[6]
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The fourth festival took place inTrondheim, Norway, from 18 to 23 June 2017 with the theme of "Life and the Universe". The festival featured eleven Nobel Prize laureates and many astronomers, biologists, chemists, economists, astronauts and artists.
The Stephen Hawking Medal award winners wereNeil deGrasse Tyson (science writing),Jean-Michel Jarre (music and arts) andThe Big Bang Theory (films).[7]
The fifth festival took place in Zurich, Switzerland in June 2019 under the theme "A Giant Leap", dedicated to the first step of the man on the Moon. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary ofApollo 11 landing on the Moon. The Stephen Hawking Medal was awarded toElon Musk, Buzz Aldrin, Brian Eno and the documentaryApollo 11, screened during the festival for the first time in Europe.[8][9]
The sixth Starmus festival took place 5–11 September 2022 inYerevan,Armenia with the theme50 Years on Mars, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of thefirst landing on Mars. There were opening ceremonies and a concert on the first day. Around 50 scientists, Nobel laureates, engineers, cosmonauts, musicians and artists took part in festival events. Starmus VI hosted a Science Camp "to enable children and people interested in science to more closely get acquainted with the latest scientific and technological achievements."[10][11]
Premiering at the festival was the documentary filmSpace Inside about the Soviet and Russian cosmonautAlexei Leonov. The 80-minute film is based on Leonov's last interview and includes footage from the Soviet history of space exploration.[12] A composition dedicated to the topic of Mars exploration was performed at the closing of the festival; the neo-symphony "March of Mars" by Tigran Jager.[13]
Winners of the Stephen Hawking Medal were announced as Brian May,Jane Goodall,Diane Ackerman and the NASA Communications Unit.[14]
The seventh festival took place 12 to 17 May 2024 inBratislava,Slovakia with the theme "The Future Of Our Home Planet".[15] A concert on the first day featured performances byJean-Michel Jarre and Brian May, light and laser displays, and adrone ballet for an audience of 100,000 by theSNP bridge.[16] They were accompanied by the musicians Claude Samard,Adiescar Chase,Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra andSlovak Philharmonic Choir.[17]
Some famous expert speakers of the festival programme were anthropologist Jane Goodall, Nobel Prize winnersMichel Mayor,Emmanuelle Charpentier andKip Thorne, and former astronautsCharlie Duke,Chris Hadfield,Kathryn Thornton andGarrett Reisman.[18]
The Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication was awarded toLaurie Anderson,Christopher Nolan,David Attenborough andSylvia Earle.[18]
In 2025, Starmus Festival returned toLa Palma,Canary Islands, under the title “The Island of the Stars”, from 25 to 28 April.[19] This edition emphasized the protection of the night sky, including challenges such as light pollution and space debris, and was part of the island’s recovery after the2021 Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption. The program featured over 45 prominent speakers—among them Nobel laureates, astronauts, scientists, and conservationists such asJane Goodall.[20] Events were held in various towns across La Palma, including Santa Cruz de La Palma, Los Llanos de Aridane, Puerto de Tazacorte, and Puerto Naos, with scientific expos and interactive “STARMUS Camps,” keynote lectures, concerts like “Sonic Universe” and a “Classical Night”.[21]
Two Sonic Universe Concerts were held at the Magma Arte & Congresos arena in Tenerife. The 2011 concert was recorded and produced into a CD entitledStarmus - Sonic Universe.[22] The rock bandNosound recorded their 2014 concert performance and produced a CD/DVD set entitledTeide 2390.[23]
