The LHC's start-up day went very smoothly, with the first beam being threaded around the ring to great acclaim in just under one hour.

"It's remarkable how quickly the LHC went through its paces on 10 September", stated LHC project leader Lyn Evans, "and testimony to the rigorous preparation that has gone into building and commissioning the LHC."

After ten days of operation, the LHC is now on stand-by. A fault in one of its eight sectors is under investigation, which requires warming up the sector from -271º Celsius to room temperature. This will take several weeks, after which the repair can be made and the sector cooled down. The warm-up and investigation phases will take us into November, when the CERN's entire research infrastructure, including all particle accelerators and experiments, is shut down for annual maintenance until spring 2009. The LHC will then restart when the injector complex is ready.

"CERN personnel and colleagues from around the world have reacted to the current situation with their customary professionalism and determination", stated CERN Director General Robert Aymar. "While the timing is undoubtedly a disappointment, a few extra weeks on a project that has been over two decades in the making is not very much. It is simply a fact of life in experimental physics at the frontiers of knowledge and technology."

The inauguration ceremony, which is by invitation only, will consist of speeches, exhibitions and a new audiovisual concert, "ORIGINS", an adaptation of "LIFE: A Journey Through Time", featuring the imagery of National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting and the music of Philip Glass, performed by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande conducted by Carolyn Kuan. It will be followed by a buffet of molecular gastronomy presented by Chef Ettore Bocchia.