“La nuit est belle !” 2026
From 9 to 11 October, CERN will participate in the sixth edition of “La nuit est belle !” by switching off lights across its sites
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Starting on the evening of Friday, 9 October, CERN will participate in the sixth edition of “La nuit est belle !”. Thanks to this initiative, turning off or dimming street lighting in the middle of the night has become common practice across the Geneva canton.
For this edition, “La nuit est belle !” invites the public to explore the night through the theme of water. Rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands and landscapes shaped by water all serve as starting points for discovering the natural, cultural and sensory riches of the night.
CERN will join this initiative by switching off the lights of the Globe, the Science Gateway Portal, Gate E, the roads and car parks on the Meyrin and Prévessin sites from 9 p.m. on Friday 9 October (to allow the participants of the Partage Ta Science event in Science Gateway to go home safely). These lights will also be switched off on the night of Saturday 10 October, except where lighting is required for safety reasons.
The lights at the SPS, LHC surface sites 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7, and BE1 area will be switched off until Monday morning, except where lighting is required for safety reasons.
If you are working at CERN, you can contribute by switching off your computers, monitors and lights when you go home. Please remember that switching off computers and lights is good practice in general to save energy and favour biodiversity at night.
Cyclists and pedestrians – make sure that you can be seen in the dark! Drivers – stay alert!
HSE recommends that you wear light-coloured clothing, preferably with reflectors, if you are outside when it is dark, as:
- A driver can see a person wearing dark clothes from about 25 metres away
- Someone wearing light-coloured clothes can be seen from about 40 metres away
- Someone wearing reflectors can be seen from about 125 metres away
Many activities will be organised across the local area from 9 to 11 October. You can follow the event live on social media via the hashtag #lanuitestbelle or visit the event website for more information and to register for activities.