SIR RANULPH FIENNES and Professor Robert Winston will be among the country’s top scientists coming to the city for a prestigious annual festival later in the year.
The annual BA Festival of Science, held in a different location every year, is coming to Liverpool as part of the Capital of Culture celebrations.
The six-day event, hosted by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, brings hundreds of the UK’s top scientists together to discuss the latest developments in the industry with the public.
More than 350 specialists are expected to attend the event at the University of Liverpool, to be held from September 6 to 11.
The festival was last held in the city in 1982, when Professor Stephen Hawking spoke in public for the first time.
Finding out how Liverpool’s maritime traditions have influenced medicine and migration and examining the issues surrounding the future of our planet will be just two of the subjects which will be explored during the week.
Sir Roland Jackson, chief executive of the BA, said: “We are honoured to be invited to hold the festival in Liverpool when it becomes European Capital of Culture in 2008.
“Science is a vital part of our culture, and it is appropriate it plays a significant part in Liverpool’s celebrations.”
Professor Drummond Bone, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool, and a member of the Liverpool Culture Company Board, said: “As a leading international centre of excellence in science and engineering, we are delighted by the selection of the University of Liverpool for the BA Festival of Science.
“We look forward to a successful festival that will further confirm Liverpool as a major international contributor to the development of science.” Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the Northwest Development Agency, said: “Alongside Liverpool’s status as European Capital of Culture, the BA Festival of Science 2008 will help to position the city, and the Northwest, as a driver for innovation, a magnet for talent and investment.”
Kris Donaldson, acting chief executive of the Liverpool Culture Company, said: “The festival will provide us all with the opportunity to explore, question and celebrate science as integral to the cultural make-up of our society.Š
“It will provide communities of all types with an invaluable opportunity to participate in active discussion about the role that science and innovation plays in our lives, to explore our future possibilities and celebrate our past achievements.”
There will be a wide variety of events from hands-on family days, to debates on current topics and opportunities.
