Yuri's Night
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Yuri's Night is an international celebration held every April 12 to commemorate milestones in space exploration. It is named for the first human to launch into space, Yuri Gagarin, who flew the Vostok 1 spaceship on April 12, 1961. In 2011, the fiftieth anniversary of Gagarin's flight, Yuri's Night was celebrated at over 567 events in 75 countries on seven continents.<ref name="Yuri's Night - World Space Party">Template:Cite news</ref> Yuri's Night is often called the "World Space Party".<ref name=ynguardian>Template:Cite news</ref> The launch of STS-1, the first Space Shuttle mission, is also honored, as it was launched 20 years to the day after Vostok 1, on April 12, 1981 (although the date of STS-1 is just a coincidence, the launch having had been delayed for two days due to a technical problem).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Objective
The goal of Yuri's Night is to increase public interest in space exploration and to inspire a new generation of explorers. Driven by space-inspired artistic expression and culminating in a worldwide network of annual celebrations and educational events, Yuri's Night creates a global community of young people committed to shaping the future of space exploration while developing responsible leaders and innovators with a global perspective.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> These global events are a showcase for elements of culture that embrace space including music, dance, fashion, and art.<ref name="AIAA">Ryan Kobrick, R. Brice Russ, and Timothy Bailey (2011). Yuri's Night: Linking the World Together with an International Space Celebration. Retrieved September 2, 2014, from http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2011-5175.</ref>
History of Yuri's Night
Yuri's Night was created in 2000 by Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, George T. Whitesides and Trish Garner. The first Yuri's Night was held on April 12, 2001, exactly 40 years after the launch of Vostok 1.<ref name=wired20110214/> Since 1962, April 12 has been celebrated in Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) as Cosmonautics Day (Template:Langx)<ref name="32FZ">Template:Cite Russian law</ref> and since 2011 internationally as the International Day of Human Space Flight.
The 2004 Yuri's Night event in Los Angeles was attended by space-related figures including author Ray Bradbury, space tourist Dennis Tito, X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis, *NSYNC's Lance Bass, and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura from the original Star Trek series). The event included a large party with two dance floors and world-class DJs.<ref name=collectspace>Template:Cite web</ref>
The 2007 event in the San Francisco Bay Area was held at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in Mountain View, CA. The event featured artistic installations, technology demonstrations, and DJ music continuing through dawn of the following day.<ref name=laughingsquid>Template:Cite news</ref>
April 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's historic first flight.<ref name=wired20110214>Template:Cite news</ref> Over 100,000 people attended 567 Yuri's Night parties in 75 countries,<ref name=aboutyn>Template:Cite web</ref> and the crew of Expedition 27 recorded a Yuri's Night celebratory greeting from the International Space Station.<ref name=ynISS>Template:Cite web</ref>
In April 2021, Yuri's Night was held virtually amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The event consisted of a hosted global live stream alongside some private, ticketed virtual events. Some notable guests included Brian May, Bill Nye, Tim Dodd, and Richard Branson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Space Foundation announced that it would change the name of its 2022 Yuri's Night celebrations from "Yuri's Night" to "A Celebration of Space: Discover What's Next" as part of a large-scale boycott of Russia in solidarity with Ukraine because Yuri Gagarin was born in Russia. Gagarin's spaceflight was flown in the name of the entire Soviet Union, dissolved in 1991, which included among other Soviet Republics, both Russia and Ukraine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Yuri's Night today
Yuri's Night events "combine space-themed partying with education and outreach". Parties and events are held at NASA centers, museums, planetariums, schools, bars, nightclubs, houses, and other locations.<ref name=aboutyn /> Often, guests are encouraged to dress up in various space-themed attire to add to the ambiance of the show. Space-themed art, sculptures and guests are often showcased at the events. Event sizes range from small to large and often attract large crowds with headlining musical acts such as Les Claypool, N*E*R*D, Common,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NASA, and The Crystal Method.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Yuri's Night has been celebrated in locations including Reno,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ottawa,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Los Angeles,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the San Francisco Bay Area,<ref>https://www.flickr.com/photos/cameravox/sets/72157604516260066/ (Account required)</ref> Huntsville, Alabama,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> New Orleans,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Inverness,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Lisbon,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Helsinki,<ref>http://meridiaani.org/index.php/yuri-s-night Template:Webarchive Yuri's Night</ref> Afghanistan, Nairobi,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Latvia,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Romania, Peru, Antarctica, and the International Space Station,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in addition to many other locations and virtual online celebrations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Yuri's Night is organized on a global level by an all-volunteer "Executive Team",<ref name=globalteam>Template:Cite web</ref> which provides logistical and promotional support to Yuri's Night events worldwide. Individual organizers are responsible for registering and running their local events.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Photo gallery
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See also
References
External links
- Yuri's Night
- MSNBC: Feeling down about spaceflight? Lift your spirits with Yuri's Night
- No Borders – Bridging Cultures Through Yuri's Night video of the presentation during the IAC 2013 (YouTube)
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