In response to the worldwide interest in our organization provoked by the recent physics discoveries, we have decided to use the unique opportunity of the present long shutdown to again open our doors to the public during the last weekend of September this year.
As during the 2008 Open Days, industrial partners and local authorities will be invited to visit on Friday 27 September. The weekend - Saturday 28 September and Sunday 29 September - will be open to CERN people and the general public.
Considering the success of the past Open Days together with CERN's current visibility, up to 100,000 visitors could be expected. It will not be possible to properly handle such a large quantity in a single day. First of all, CERN does not have the infrastructure to accommodate such a large number of visitors without creating major congestion. Secondly, this amount of visitors would lead to long and frustrating queues at every visiting point.
In order to mitigate this and make these Open Days as successful as possible for such a large audience, the following arrangements have been made:
- contrary to the last Open Days in 2008, when the Saturday was closed to the general public, this year we will invite the general public also on Saturday
- the opening times on both visiting days - Saturday 28 September and Sunday 29 September - will be extended by one hour from 9am to 8pm
This way we will be able to welcome our visitors with reasonable parking facilities, enhanced public transport and shuttle bus services.
In addition, since the capacity of the accelerator and detector underground visit points will not be sufficient to satisfy the demand, visitors will be requested to make reservations, free of charge, for all underground visits to prevent long and frustrating waiting times. The reservation system will be activated in August on the Open Day web site and the full volume of reservations will be distributed in several batches during the following weeks to give everyone a chance to get a place.
A rich and diverse programme will also be proposed on the Meyrin and Prevessin sites in order to supplement the underground visits.
To stay tuned, you are invited to follow the evolution of the event on the website.
Finally, I would also like to announce here that a party will be organized on the evening of Monday 30 September to celebrate the recent discoveries, the performance of our installations, the Open Days, and, most importantly, your engagement. At the moment, I can only tell you that this special event will be named “Bosons & More”. More information will be communicated in due time.