Six days on two islands
STARMUS VIII took place in the Canary Islands from 17 to 22 October 2026, with events held on both Tenerife and La Palma, the festival said. The eighth edition of the event carried the title The Search for Truth.
Founders and participants
The festival was founded by the astrophysicist Garik Israelian and Sir Brian May, the Queen guitarist who is also an astrophysicist. Those taking part across the six days included Nobel Prize-winning scientists, the musicians Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, and explorers, alongside tributes to Stephen Hawking and Jane Goodall, according to the release.
Wiseman in La Palma
Reid Wiseman, commander of NASA's Artemis II mission, appeared in La Palma, where Israelian asked him how it felt to attend the festival. Israelian noted that 15 years earlier the same island had hosted Neil Armstrong, Alexei Leonov, Jim Lovell, Buzz Aldrin and other scientists and guests. Wiseman replied that Leonov had been among the first people to speak with him before his launch to the International Space Station in 2014, and that he found it striking to be connected across those years.
