CERN screening of The Geneva Event

Friday 26 Jan 2024, 13:00 → 14:10 Europe/Zurich

774/R-013 (CERN)

Journey back just over 40 years to relive the excitement of hunting for the W boson at CERN, with an exclusive screening of the 1983 BBC documentary The Geneva Event on Friday 26 January from 1 p.m. in the 774 Auditorium in CERN Prévessin. 

The BBC Horizon team captured Carlo Rubbia in his element as it followed physicists and engineers at the SPS and the UA1 and UA2 experiments from 1978 to 1983 on the path to one of the most important discoveries in particle physics. Catch a glimpse of old control rooms, the expanding CERN sites and newly installed state-of-the art technology. Also featuring: the first antiproton beams, retro animations, lectures by Steven Weinberg and Abdus Salam, as well as former UK prime-minister Margret Thatcher’s visit to CERN.

Scientifically robust, this classic documentary film offers a rare insight into the technological challenges and personal stories behind large physics experiments.

In case you missed it, low-res versions are also available in English, French and German:

• English original 1hr version: https://videos.cern.ch/record/1004828
  
• English shortened 30min version: https://videos.cern.ch/record/43453
• French 1hr version: https://videos.cern.ch/record/43447
• German 45min version: https://videos.cern.ch/record/996534

The film includes footage from the control room, with a touch terminal, pipe-smoking and more (see screenshots below).