On the 22nd of December 2022 the Stadsgehoorzaal will be transformed into the Finale Festival of Leiden European City of Science. You're invited to celebrate this event with us!

The Finale Festival will take place from 16:00 (4pm) until 22:22 (10:22 pm). We'll look back on an incredible year filled with science, knowledge, art, and craftsmanship. Of course, you'll also be able to re-experience some wonderful activities. But we'll also look towards the future. After all, the daily topic on the 22nd of December is: FUTURE. 

Are you curious? Then this Finale Festival is meant for you! Everyone is welcome and you can attend free of charge! Take someone with you or tell others about this event. We'd love to see you on the 22nd of December!  

Do keep in mind that this event will mainly be in Dutch. Visitors that do not speak Dutch are also welcome. We will accommodate for English-speaking visitors wherever possible.

Get your free ticket here! 

PROGRAM

The festival terrain is opened from 16:00 (4pm) to 21:22 (9pm). This means you'll be able to visit the festival at your own leisure between those times. Do you want to get inspired right before dinner? Or get away from the evening cold and partake in a fun activity? You can! Everything is possible!
It will take about 90 minutes if you want to do all of the activities.

Between 16:00 and 21:22 there will be things to do in the entire Stadsgehoorzaal. After 21:22, we'll finish the evening with some festive drinks*. 

*the drinks are at your own expense. 

THE GREAT HALL

The great hall will be filled with some Leiden2022 activities you can't miss out on! Talk to the scientists behind Seeing Stars. Research the rhythm of your heart with TNO Leiden. And bring along your old/damaged clothes to fix them up with the Circulair Warenhuis.  

• Play the live sized 'We are the City' game by PS | Theater 
• The Circulair Warenhuis where you can transform your old clothing into ‘hotte couture’ 
• Talk to the doubtific scientists of the Wijscokar (Wisecream Truck)
•  Re-live the magic of Seeing Stars 
• Discover the universe through the James Webb telescope with (PhD) students of Leiden university. 
• Research the rhythm of your heart in specific circumstances with TNO Leiden 
• Dance and maths come together in a choreography of Lehmers Dance 
• Learn morse code with the VERON
• Discover science and art in Art of the Scientific Story
• Test with the LUMC: Are you a morning or an evening person? 
• Tradition 2050: an artistic look at the question 'What will the Leids Ontzet look like in 2050?'
• Enjoy a bingewatching session of the scientific tv program Nieuw Licht (New Light)
• Play in the Casino Copernican and discover a new universe. 
• Partake in the Stem Cell Game by the LUMC
• Margaret Gold's Citizen Science Lab about light pollution. 
• Come up with your own star sign in the Star Sign Brainstorm. 
• Become acquainted with children's dreams about the future in the JES-dromenboom (JES-dreamtree)

THE STAGE

Guided by New Scientist Head Editor Jim Jansen, the stage in the Great Hall will make place for inspiring conversations about the future. What will the connection between science and society look like in the future? How can this subject be covered from different perspectives? 

• The societal perspective with Derk Loorbach (DRIFT) 
• The scientific perspective with Christine Mummery (LUMC) 
• The artistic perspective with Micha Hamel (Akademie van Kunsten, part of KNAW) 

Aside from these meetings, the stage will also focus on the Leiden2022 Model for Public Engagement with Science. This model will be presented and discussed by several different speakers.   

THE BREE HALL

In the Bree Hall you'll travel through space and time with the Mobile Planetarium. Be amazed by the world above you and discover the secrets of the universe. Between 16:00 and 21:22 there will be a show every 30 minutes. At 18:00 and 21:00 there will be a show in English. Will you join us in infinity? 

THE FOYER

In the foyer of the building you'll be able to discover science in an interactive way. Ask all your questions to the scientists that will be present, or discover someone's inner world during a scientific dating show. 

• A live conversation with the presenters of Radio Weetlust
• Participate in a Microbiome (!) Dating Show
• Postbus71 will answer all of your scientific questions on the spot
• Discover science and art in the Art of the Scientific Story

THE WALKABOUT

In the Walkabout your senses will look back on the past year. You can see an impressive overview of the year and you can talk to the living books that played a role in the Knowledge Throughout the Neighbourhoods. Living books? Yes! There will be books you can ask anything you want.  

• Impressive images by the Leidse Amateur Fotografen Vereniging 
• Former city photographer Koen Suidgeest will talk about diversity in Leiden
• Pictures of the ESOF, EUCYS, and TalentOn conventions; three highlights of this year
• Living Library: 'borrow' one of the partners of Knowledge Throughout the Neighbourhoods.  

THE BUILDING

You won't be able to escape all the beautiful things that science, art, and craftsmanship have to offer. That's why there will also be many interesting things to do in the hallways of the Stadsgehoorzaal.

• Learn about local food at food market Voedsel Around the Corner. 
• Participate in research about emotional body language by the Psychologie Lab op Wielen (Psychology Lab on Wheels) by Leiden University.
• Go on a timetraveling walk with Merlijn Twaalfhoven 
• Ice cold experiments by Freezing Physics 
• Star Lego: play with Lego and build your own telescope
• The Watergate: how much water do you use in a day?