Happy 70th Birthday CERN!

A special high-level ceremony on 1 October crowned a year of celebrations for CERN's 70th anniversary, which are continuing across Europe and beyond.

The ceremony, held at CERN Science Gateway, was attended by 38 national delegations and included speeches by Heads of State and Government from Bulgaria, Italy, Latvia, Serbia, Slovakia and Switzerland, Her Royal Highness the Princess Astrid of Belgium, and the President of the European Commission. In addition to the national delegations, many scientific, political and economic leaders were also present.

A series of short films highlighted significant milestones in CERN’s history, and the event featured a performance from the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

“Today, CERN is a truly global laboratory, with 24 Member States (twice as many as in 1954), ten Associate Member States, four Observers, many partners from all over the world and a community of more than 17 000 people across more than 110 nationalities, an incredible melting pot of languages, cultures and traditions. For those of us who work here – or have worked here – this rich and enriching diversity has become a normal part of our everyday life. But in a world where conflicts between countries, religions and cultures sadly persist, this is a truly precious gift that cannot be taken for granted.”

Fabiola Gianotti, CERN Director-General

This high-level group of distinguished guests demonstrated the strong support for CERN’s mission and its ambitions.

“There was so much positive feedback from all the delegations and guests and the support that was expressed by them for the future of CERN was extremely moving”, says Charlotte Lindberg Warakaulle, CERN Director of International Relations. “This was an outstanding event in a truly unique year of celebration. What a great basis for a brilliant future!”

The year-long anniversary programme continues to grow and has already seen more than 100 events organised in 29 countries as well as at CERN. “We are truly grateful to everyone who has contributed throughout the year,” said Luciano Musa and Melissa Gaillard, Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator of the CERN70 events. “The feedback that we continue to receive from members of the CERN community is also amazing. Thank you to everyone who was involved.”

Celebrations also took place on social media, including a video of the CERN community wishing the Laboratory a multilingual Happy Birthday, and even birthday messages sent in by celebrities from around the world.

Photo highlights from the ceremony are available here.