The official opening ceremony to launch the International Polar Year 2007-2008 will take place at the Palais de la Découverte, a famous science museum in central Paris, France, on 1 March 2007. The event will start at 11.00 Central European Time (CET) with a press conference. The co-sponsors of IPY, the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), are hosting the event. For more information, please contact Keith Alverson at IOC or visit the new IOC IPY website.