Stephen Hawking will be coming to Norway this summer in conjunction with a science and music festival. Photo: Starmus

Stephen Hawking to come to Trondheim and NTNU

Stephen Hawking will come to Norway this summer as the star speaker at the Starmus Festival, scheduled for 18-23 June in Trondheim.

The theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking will visit Norway for the first time ever this summer when he comes to Trondheim to be the keynote speaker at the Starmus Festival.

The festival, a unique mix of science and music, will also feature three astronauts who have walked on the Moon, as well as seven Nobel Prize winners. All told, the schedule includes 28 different scientific lecturers, and a number of concerts.

“Stephen Hawking is looking forward to attending Starmus,” says Garik Israelian, who is the festival’s founder.

Single ticket for Hawking

It has not yet been decided where Hawking will hold his lecture when he is in Trondheim, but he has said that he wants to lecture to his largest audience ever. He has previously  lectured to 8,000 people. In addition,  Hawking, 75, will participate in several other events during the six-day long science festival.

Tickets are already available for purchase, with a special NOK 5000 Trondheim Pass that is available to Norwegian residents. The pass allows you to attend all festival events and lectures, including Stephen Hawking, along with all concerts. Individual tickets for other events will not be sold, except for Hawking’s lecture. That means if you want to hear Buzz Aldrin, Brian Eno or any of the other academic speakers you have to buy a festival pass. There are a total of 500 Trondheim Passes available. There are also discount tickets for university and public school students, which cost NOK 3200 through May 31.

Ordinary tickets are more expensive, and will also rise in price as the festival approaches.

Capacity for 3500 attendees

The main arena for the scientific lectures will be Trondheim Spectrum, which has space for 3,500 people. In addition, Starmus has reserved a section of the downtown Torget for  events targeting residents of the city and region.

The Trondheim festival is the  first time Starmus will include a local programme. In previous years the festival has been held in Tenerife.