Annonce

Media Advisory: Invitation to ESO’s 50th Anniversary Gala Event, 11 October 2012

18 septembre 2012

WHAT
Media representatives are invited to participate as working journalists at the gala event celebrating 50 years since the signing of the ESO convention in 1962, which established the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

WHO
ESO's Director General, Professor Tim de Zeeuw, and the Council President, Professor Xavier Barcons, will welcome Ministers and representatives from the Member States and the host country Chile, as well as the ESO Council, representatives of ESO committees, past ESO Directors General, renowned astronomers and other people who have played key roles for ESO.

WHY
The event celebrates the first 50 years of the most productive ground-based observatory. Among the highlights of the night will be:

• Keynote speeches by Professor Brian Schmidt, Physics Nobel Prize Laureate 2011 and Professor Tim de Zeeuw, ESO Director General;
• Speeches by Professor Dr Annette Schavan MdB, Bundesministerin für Bildung und Forschung, Germany and Staatsminister Dr Wolfgang Heubisch MdL, Staatsminister für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst, Bayern;
• A commemorative event involving a mirror blank for the European Extremely Large Telescope.

Interviews can be requested during the event. An interview corner will be available to journalists during and immediately after the event. Courteous photography and filming will be possible from an area close to the stage, as well as during the welcoming of the guests (18:30-19:30). Sound feeds (analogue XLR) can be provided upon request.

WHEN and WHERE
The event takes place on 11 October 2012, between 18:30 and 23:00, at the Kaisersaal of the Munich Residenz in Germany (Residenzstraße 1, 80333 München). There is no parking at the Residenz.

MEDIA ACCREDITATION
Media accreditation is reserved for bona fide members of the press. To be granted accreditation, media representatives have to submit the following at information@eso.org before 28 September 2012:

• media affiliation statement
• full name
• passport number
• nationality

If you need a visa to travel to Germany, please request an official invitation. More details about visas for Germany can be found here.

Please note that for security reasons, media representatives will only gain access to the event if they have received accreditation in advance. A media registration desk for last-minute sign up will be available on location 17:30–19:30. Accredited journalists will have to present their passport and pick up their media badge. Media must have the badges visible at all times during the event.

Media attendance at the gala will also be limited as space is tight. We therefore strongly encourage journalists to register as early as possible.

MEDIA ROOM
A media room for all journalists accredited to cover the event will be made available. The media room will be equipped with electrical power outlets for personal laptop computers and free Internet access. ESO Public Information Officers will be present to provide information and respond to queries and interview requests.

News connected with the event will be published online at: http://www.eso.org/public/news/ A press release is scheduled for release on 12 October, containing photos from the event.

Media representatives are encouraged to use social media during the event using the hashtag #ESO50years.

For further information about ESO’s 50th Anniversary please visit this page.

Liens

• ESO’s 50th Anniversary
• 50 Highlights from 50 years
• Europe to the Stars — ESO’s first 50 years of exploring the southern sky
• Munich Residenz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Residenz and http://www.residenz-muenchen.de//englisch/residenc/index.htm
• Visas for travelling to Germany
• ESO Press Releases
• ESO Twitter account
• ESO Facebook page

Contacts

Lars Lindberg Christensen
Head, ESO education and Public Outreach Department
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49-89-3200-6761
Cell: +49-173-3872-621
Email: lars@eso.org