New Scientist Live
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| New Scientist Live | |
|---|---|
| Name | New Scientist Live |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Science festival |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Venue | ExCeL London |
| Location | London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| First | 2013 |
| Organiser | New Scientist |
New Scientist Live New Scientist Live is an annual public science festival organised by New Scientist that brings together researchers, technologists, entrepreneurs, educators and the public. The event typically features talks, panels, exhibitions, workshops and demonstrations, aiming to make developments in science accessible to broad audiences through interactions with institutions and companies. Held in London at venues such as ExCeL London, the programme has connected audiences with contributors from institutions including NASA, European Space Agency, CERN, Wellcome Trust and Royal Society.
Overview
The festival showcases themes spanning astronomy, biology, physics, chemistry, computer science, engineering, medicine and environmental science through collaborations with organisations like Imperial College London, University College London, King's College London, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and California Institute of Technology. Exhibitors have included companies and institutions such as Microsoft, Google, Apple Inc., IBM, DeepMind, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rolls-Royce Holdings, BP, Shell plc, Siemens, Philips, GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, UNICEF, World Health Organization, Greenpeace, WWF, National Trust (United Kingdom), Natural History Museum, London, Science Museum, London, British Library, British Geological Survey, Met Office, Environment Agency (England and Wales), Defra and National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom).
History and Development
Launched following exhibitions and conferences in the early 2010s, the festival evolved from print and digital outreach by New Scientist into a major live event at venues including Olympia London and ExCeL London. Early editions featured collaborations with research funders and media partners such as the Wellcome Trust, Royal Society, Institute of Physics, Royal Institution, European Research Council, British Science Association, Victoria and Albert Museum, BBC Science Unit, Channel 4, The Guardian, The Times, Nature, Science and The Lancet. The event adapted to global events by incorporating virtual sessions alongside physical programming, aligning with initiatives from UNESCO, United Nations, World Economic Forum, G20, COP26, COP27 and agencies such as European Commission.
Programme and Features
Programming typically includes keynote lectures, panel debates, hands-on workshops, live experiments, film screenings and exhibitions. Notable session formats have featured collaborations with BBC Radio 4, Sky News, Channel 5, ITV, Talks at Google, TEDx, Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Science Festival, Edinburgh International Science Festival, Sage Gateshead and Cheltenham. Technical demos and prototypes from start-ups and corporates have illustrated advances in artificial intelligence via OpenAI, DeepMind, NVIDIA, Intel Corporation, ARM Holdings; robotics from Boston Dynamics, Honda, Toyota, KUKA; and space technology from European Space Agency, NASA, Roscosmos, Arianespace, SpaceX and Blue Origin. Medical tracks have involved representatives from NHS England, NHS Scotland, Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Karolinska Institutet and pharmaceutical research networks. Environmental and climate strands have drawn speakers associated with Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Sierra Club, IPCC, Meteorological Office (Met Office), United Nations Environment Programme and Nature Conservancy.
Speakers and Exhibitors
Speakers have included Nobel laureates and leading researchers affiliated with institutions such as Royal Society, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Max Planck Society, CNRS, ETH Zurich, Karolinska Institute, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Centre for Genomic Regulation and Institute of Cancer Research (London). The festival has hosted journalists, presenters and public intellectuals connected to Brian Cox, Alice Roberts, Marcus du Sautoy, Richard Dawkins, David Attenborough, Stephen Hawking's collaborators, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Matt Ridley, Steven Pinker, Mary Beard, Simon Singh and broadcasters from BBC and Channel 4. Exhibitors have ranged from start-ups backed by Y Combinator, Techstars and Seedcamp to multinational firms such as Siemens, GE HealthCare, Thales Group, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Honeywell International, Schneider Electric and ABB Ltd.
Attendance and Impact
Attendance figures have drawn tens of thousands of visitors, including scientists, students, teachers, policymakers and lifelong learners. The event has influenced public engagement strategies at organisations like Wellcome Trust, Royal Society of Chemistry, Royal Society of Biology, Institute of Physics, British Science Association and inspired spin-off activities at festivals including World Science Festival, Pint of Science, Science in the City and London Science Festival. Coverage in outlets such as The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, El País, La Repubblica, Asahi Shimbun, The Australian and Times of India amplified research and corporate announcements launched at the event.
Controversies and Criticism
Critiques have targeted alleged conflicts of interest involving sponsorship by corporations including BP, Shell plc, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Rolls-Royce Holdings, prompting debate similar to controversies seen at Glastonbury Festival sponsorship discussions, disputes involving Wellcome Trust funding, and debates mirrored in controversies around TED and Science Museum (London). Other criticisms addressed commercialisation of science events, accessibility for underrepresented communities noted by organisations such as Stonewall, Amnesty International, Minority Rights Group International, Equality and Human Rights Commission (United Kingdom), and the balance between entertainment and rigorous peer-reviewed content akin to controversies at Hay Festival and Edinburgh International Science Festival.