The Starmus Festival returns to La Palma in 2025 with the Starlight Foundation

The island of La Palma recovers the celebration of the Starmus Festival with the support of the Starlight Foundation.

"Starmus La Palma" is presented as a historic edition, both for the festival and for the island, which manages to recover its celebration after an extensive effort. The event of scientific diffusion and art will be held between 26 and 30 April 2025, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Instituto Astrofísico de Canarias (IAC) and the 40th anniversary of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory. This was announced this morning by the Government of the Canary Islands together with Garik Israelian, promoter of the event, at the presentation press conference, together with the President of the Government of the Canary Islands -Fernando Clavijo-, the Special Commissioner for the Reconstruction of the Island of La Palma -Héctor F. Izquierdo- and the President of the Island Council of La Palma -Sergio Rodríguez Fernández-.

After four editions held in different countries, Starmus returns to the Canary Islands in 2021, together with the Starlight Foundation, as part of the recovery program of the island of La Palma after the disaster caused by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano. Thus, the Festival will serve as a platform for the international promotion of the "Beautiful Island" and its positioning as one of the most privileged areas in the world for stargazing.

Starmus Festival is a celebration where science, astronomy, art and music come together to create a unique framework for entertainment and outreach in the world. In fact, there is no other event that brings together so many of the world's leading scientists in a festival format with music, exhibitions, competitions and entertainment programs.

After nine years abroad - in Norway, Switzerland, Armenia and Slovakia - the Starmus Festival manages, not without effort, to return to the island where it was born, as Garik Israelian recalled, who also thanked the support of the Ministry of Science and Culture, the Regional Executive and the Cabildo of La Palma to realize the "Dream of Starmus".

In the framework of the "Starlight Declaration or Declaration of La Palma" in defense of the night sky and the right to starlight, promoted by the IAC and drafted and signed by international institutions such as UNESCO, UNWTO and IAU, among others, whose responsible body is the Starlight Foundation, This year's highlight will be a unique concert in the world called "Music of the Stars", from the Gran Telescopio de Canarias, in the Roque de los Muchachos, with internationally renowned artists, which will be broadcast in streaming to the reference points of the street program, as well as to the rest of the world, and a "Star Party" concert in Tazacorte.

This is another dream come true, this time for both the Israeli and the famous guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May, who came up with the idea during the inauguration of the GTC.

The central theme of this new edition will be the "protection of the skies", something the Starlight Foundation has been working on for years. To this end, the 5-day STARMUS program will feature world-class speakers giving multidisciplinary informative lectures, concerts by internationally renowned bands, and an extensive open program of free activities aimed at all audiences, not to mention the popular STARMUS Camp, which will bring science to the forefront throughout the island.

The organization is already working on the program and it is expected that all the details of the edition can be announced next September.

We are delighted to announce the return of STARMUS to the Canary Islands. We are announcing this special edition with great enthusiasm because returning to the Islands after so many years means a lot to us and also to the Canary Islands and La Palma in particular. We are forgetting "home" because La Palma is the origin of Starmus, it is the place that inspired Brian May and me to create Starmus. n this edition we are going to do something different, something very special, a festival of the stars in every sense of the word, because besides being a privileged place for stargazing, La Palma also has the Paseo de las Estrellas, so the level of both speakers and artists must be stellar. We have less than a year to organize such a special edition, but we are going to make STARMUS La Palma a historic edition of what is already for many the most inspiring festival in the world," said Garik Israelian, co-founder and creative director of the festival.

According to Fernando Clavijo, President of the Government of the Canary Islands, "it is with great satisfaction that Starmus returns to the Canary Islands, and specifically to La Palma, to offer us a symbiosis of the best of human capacities in the fields of science, knowledge, art and creativity, in a more sustainable world, becoming a true light, like that of the stars, that motivates and inspires our companies, institutions and our young people, and projects to the rest of the planet what we are and do in the Canary Islands".
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"STARMUS is a great opportunity to promote scientific tourism, to deepen education and awareness of our environment, to promote innovation and economic development, creating imaginative synergies with culture and the arts, and to strengthen our international projection, based on the example of recovery and resilience that the palmeros and palmeras gave us after the Tajogaite eruption", he added.

According to Héctor F. Izquierdo, representative of the Special Commissioner for the Reconstruction of the Island of La Palma, "rich countries do not invest in science because they are rich; they are rich because they have previously invested in science and, in this sense, La Palma has a great scientific and informative potential due to its own natural heritage. La Palma has a great scientific and informative potential because of its own natural heritage. a Palma is sky, land and sea and their synergies. La Palma is an island of science and therefore a natural setting for STARMUS, which will also have the invaluable collaboration of such an important engine for the island as the IAC".

The President of the La Palma Town Hall, Sergio Rodríguez Fernández, emphasizes that "the Festival returns to the island to stay, with activities that will take place every year, allowing to maintain the essence of the island and of this event. A Moreover, he points out, it does so at an important moment to contribute to the recovery of the island".

For her part, the director of the Starlight Foundation, Antonia Varela, added that "it is an honor and a great responsibility to be part of the organization of a festival of this nature, which will bring to La Palma so many scientists and artists of international renown. E The Festival will help us to promote the environmental, cultural and scientific values of protecting our skies, as we do from the Starlight Foundation". Varela also recalled that it was in La Palma that the Starlight Foundation organized the Festival, and that it was in this island that the Declaration of La Palma was signed and the Sky Law was definitively promoted, becoming a world example for the protection of this heritage.

STARMUS has the support of the IAC -Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias- as a collaborating institution. Its director, Rafael Rebolo, is delighted that the 2025 STARMUS Festival will be held on the island of La Palma, coinciding with two important anniversaries: the 40th anniversary of the inauguration of the Canary Islands Observatories and the 50th anniversary of the Institute itself. In this sense, he remarked that "La Palma can be happy that a world event of these characteristics, which unites science and art, will be held on this island that has contributed so much to the progress of international astrophysics, thanks to its generosity in applying the law of the sky and in hosting high level facilities such as the largest optical and infrared telescope in the world: the Grantecan".

In addition, the great physicist, engineer and science communicator Javier Santaolalla, who will be one of the great collaborators of this edition, remarked that "the Canary Islands have the ideal conditions to become a world reference in astronomy: great human talent, infrastructure and the best night sky in Europe. But we need people to know it, Canarians to know it and defend it, and the rest of the world to admire it. Starmus will take the name of the Canary Islands to every corner of the world".

In terms of public support for this unique celebration of La Palma, science, music and the stars, STARMUS La Palma is being held thanks to the European Funds for the Reconstruction of the Island of La Palma from the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, promoted by the Special Commission for the Reconstruction of the Island of La Palma and managed with the support of the Government of the Canary Islands through the Ministry of Universities, Science and Innovation and Culture.

About Starmus

Since the very first Homo Sapiens looked up at a star-filled sky we have been awestruck by the vastness of the cosmos. Even today we remain humbled by the sheer immensity of space, especially as through our progress in physics and astronomy, we are now aware of the tremendous distances involved – even to our closest neighbouring stars.

Created by Dr. Garik Israelian, astrophysicist at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC) and Dr. Brian May, astrophysicist and the lead guitarist of the iconic rock band Queen, the Starmus Festival is a combination of science, art and music that has featured presentations from Astronauts, Cosmonauts, Nobel Prize Winners and prominent figures from science, culture, the arts and music.

Stephen Hawking and Alexei Leonov, together with the rock star and astrophysicist Dr. Brian May, worked to create the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, awarded to individuals and teams who have made significant contributions to science communication. Previous Stephen Hawking Medal winners include Elon Musk, Jean-Michel Jarre, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Eno, Hans Zimmer and The Particle Fever documentary.

The Starmus Festivals join Nobel laureates, eminent researchers, astronauts, thinkers, men and women of science, culture, arts and music to share their knowledge and experiences in the common search for answers to the great questions of today.