Jean-Michel Jarre announces an exceptional one-off live concert-event, Bridge from the Future, the opening event of this year’s STARMUS Festival. In association with ESET, a global leader in digital security, the electronic music pioneer will perform live at Incheba Bratislava, Slovakia on May 12 - against the stunning backdrop of the SNP (UFO) Bridge. He will be joined on stage by special guest Sir Brian May. The concert is taking place in cooperation with the City of Bratislava and is free to attend. It will be televised on Slovakian National RTVS as well as globally via the EBU network and livestreamed on Jean-Michel Jarre’s YouTube channel. 

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Bridge from the Future, specially conceived and designed for this occasion by Jarre, will inaugurate the seventh edition of STARMUS Festival, the globe’s preeminent gathering uniting science, art, and music. This year, with the theme of ‘STARMUS Earth: the future of our home planet’, powered by ESET Digital Security, the festival convenes Nobel laureates, distinguished scientists and researchers, astronauts, intellectuals, and artists to exchange knowledge and insights as we explore profound and urgent existential questions. It was founded by astrophysicist Garik Israelian, PhD, and Queen guitarist and PhD in astrophysics Sir Brian May, under the auspices of the late Stephen Hawking. Science, often referred to as the bridge to tomorrow, holds the promise of transformative advancements - if we embrace its discoveries and predictions without hesitation.

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STARMUS aims to inspire the next generation of explorers and regenerate the spirit of discovery, engaging humanity with the biggest issues of our time. As the world faces challenges that threaten to narrow our vision, STARMUS’ opening concert Bridge from the Future invites us to expand our horizons and embrace a future powered by curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. They are values shared by ESET who, hosting the concert and STARMUS Festival in their hometown of Bratislava, demonstrate their dedication and ambition to promote the power of science, culture, and education among local and global audiences.

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With Bridge from the Future, Jean-Michel Jarre stands at the forefront of this movement not only as an iconic musician and futurist, but as a United Nations Ambassador for Education, Science and Culture at UNESCO now for over three decades. Joined by Sir Brian May, who is not only a founding member of Queen, world-renowned guitarist, songwriter, producer, and performer, but also a brilliant Doctor of Astrophysics. He joins Jarre on stage not only as the legendary musician but also as a founding partner of STARMUS.

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Performing in Bratislava, Jarre takes centre stage in the heart of Europe, the continent which has been the focal point of so many revolutionary movements in arts, culture and technology throughout history. Drawing inspiration from the visionary thinkers of the Renaissance era and spanning the centuries, Bridge from the Future and STARMUS Earth Festival heralds the dawn of a modern renaissance, with our planet's most brilliant minds calling upon the next generation of thinkers and explorers to contribute to regenerate the spirit of discovery, and to engage humanity with the biggest issues of our time.

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"As we continue to learn from the past, we should today listen to the future, being receptive and attentive to the incoming signals. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and solutions, in all fields exist already there ahead, in the future, waiting for us to find them.  It is our vocation as artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, and citizens, to engage and activate progress, in creating a bridge from the future: this is the spirit of STARMUS.” 

• Jean-Michel Jarre

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This 2024 edition of STARMUS Festival champions the theme of ‘The Future of our Home Planet,’ accentuating the vital role that both science and art play in ensuring a sustainable future for Earth. While science illuminates the truths of our universe, art and music inspire us to seek out further revelations.

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The five-day event (May 13-17) comprises lectures and discussions on topics including Environment, AI and Cybersecurity, and Space; as well as the annual presentation of the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, for which Jean-Michel Jarre was a recipient in 2017. This year, Jean-Michel has been announced as the latest STARMUS Advisory Board member.

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Sir Brian May said: “We’re thrilled that STARMUS VII will kick off with such a unique and spectacular show. And in this concert, Jean-Michel Jarre will set the tone for the spirit of this conference, specifically aimed towards addressing our planet's current problems.”

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Richard Marko, ESET CEO said: “We couldn't be more thrilled to announce that Jean-Michel Jarre is set to ignite the STARMUS Festival with his captivating performance. The location with its backdrop of the SNP Bridge serves as a metaphorical bridge between the past and the future. It encapsulates the contrast of eras. On one end stands the historic centre of Bratislava, and on the other, the retro-futuristic UFO monument. A similar contrast is seen in the story of ESET. In the beginning, few businesses and individuals used the antivirus we developed 30 years ago. Now, that stands in striking juxtaposition to the multi-layered, AI-powered technology combined with human expertise, used by hundreds of millions of people all around the world for their protection. In both cases, such progress was only made possible thanks to science.”  

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Garik Israelian said: “It’s been 16 years since Brian and I met Jean-Michel in London and proposed to him a collaboration. We knew that Jean-Michel’s concert involves an ambitious production and never had an opportunity for this. It seems to me that we have been waiting for the Starmus Earth to make it happen.This is the first time STARMUS puts the spotlight on our planet and we want the general public to be more receptive than ever to the big questions of our time, of our planet. There is no doubt that kicking off this special edition with a performance as spectacular as "Bridge from the Future" will achieve that goal.  Jean-Michel Jarre has always brought us music from the future to make us vibrate with the present, and that is the spirit of STARMUS.”

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Bridge from the Future Live Concert takes place at Incheba, Bratislava on May 12. It is free to attend.

STARMUS Earth Festival runs from 13-17 May in venues throughout the city, tickets are available from www.ticketportal.sk