Following the activities which took place in Bonn, Germany (7–11 April 2025), the next instalment of our 50th anniversary programme is a week of events taking place in Bologna, Italy, from 15 to 19 September.
The workshops cover a broad range of topics and are an opportunity to celebrate our collaboration across the globe, particularly with our Member and Co-operating States.
Information about Bologna events
To mark 50 years of close collaboration, events to commemorate our anniversary are taking place in our three duty stations.
Events this week include:
- 21st HPC Workshop, 15–19 September
- Using ECMWF Forecasts (UEF) 2025, 15–18 September
- Destination Earth Annual Meeting, 16–17 September
- European Weather Cloud User Workshop, 18 September
The week also sees some of the world’s press visit our Bologna data centre to hear more about how we collaborate with our Member States and how our work impacts both academia and industry.
Our thanks to the Emilia-Romagna Regione, which is already host to our data centre, and has provided invaluable help to make this week of events happen.
New publication
As part of the anniversary programme, a new publication retracing 50 years of high-performance computing at ECMWF can be viewed on our website, along with the first three anniversary papers published in April.
- The critical role of high-performance computing in medium-range weather forecasting: half a century of technology innovation (PDF, 5.26 MB)
- Fifty years of Earth system modelling at ECMWF (PDF, 1.8 MB)
- Fifty years of data assimilation at ECMWF (PDF, 1.8 MB)
- Ten years of Copernicus at ECMWF (PDF, 2.2 MB)
The next papers, which will be published later in the year, are on the topics of supporting users and meeting their needs; and machine learning, including advances in this field and how it impacts on weather prediction.
Through the six subjects, we aim to cover as much as possible of our work.
Later in the anniversary year
Later in 2025, there will be further activities.
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Reading, 1–3 December: The week will focus on machine learning, especially on joint endeavours with the national meteorological services of our Member States. A 50th anniversary symposium will also be held.
The year is an opportunity for our community to take stock of where we are and where we need to be to address the challenges of predicting severe and extreme weather. It is a time to express our gratitude to all who have worked at ECMWF or contributed through schemes such as Fellowships and graduate trainee programmes; to visiting scientists and our partners in academia and the private sector; and above all to our Member and Co-operating States, who have been part of this journey for five decades.
More information
For further information, see the ‘Anniversary’ page.