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New Year ceremony at CERN

Representatives of local authorities and of International Geneva gathered at CERN for the annual New Year ceremony.

Thursday, 06 February 2025

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By Zoe Nikolaidou

VIP visitFabiola Gianotti, CERN Director-General, gives the 2025 New Year speech to local officials and representatives of International Geneva (image: Marina Cavazza / CERN)

On 31 January 2025, CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti met more than 130 representatives of local authorities and of International Geneva to present her best wishes for the New Year and to thank them for their support. The New Year ceremony is a longstanding tradition and is testament to CERN’s importance to the Geneva and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions. Local officials from both sides of the French–Swiss border came together in the SM18 test facility, one of the CERN campus’s iconic buildings, where innovative technologies are being developed for the accelerators of the future.

The event also provided an opportunity to present the High-Luminosity LHC, the major upgrade of the LHC, CERN’s flagship accelerator, whose components are currently being tested in the SM18 building. The upgrade includes superconducting links that are capable of transmitting very high electrical currents over long distances, without any loss. As Fabiola Gianotti pointed out, these links will not only power the modernised accelerator but are already paving the way for revolutionary applications in various sectors of society.

VIP visitRepresentatives of local authorities and of International Geneva were given a tour of the SM18 test facility (image: Marina Cavazza / CERN)

 

Alongside these major technological advances, and with the support of its partners, CERN has also been investing heavily in science education and outreach, helping to bring science closer to the general public. 2024 marked the first full year of operation of the Science Gateway, CERN’s new science education and outreach hub, which has been a great success and welcomed over 390 000 visitors from 175 countries. This unique centre showcases the beauty and usefulness of science, inspires young people to pursue scientific careers and builds confidence in research. CERN is striving to strengthen its links with both the local region and visitors from all over the world in order to highlight the fundamental role that science can play in solving major global challenges such as health crises and climate change.