This year’s Orkney International Science Festival will be delivered online 2-8 September. All events will be directly accessible live through the Festival’s YouTube channel and will remain there for future access.

This year’s programme will appear by mid-July on the Festival’s website .

This year’s themes include the continuing Year of Coasts and Waters and action to tackle climate change. Topics include tidal power progress, offshore wind, hydrogen for planes and ferries, plans to row the Northwest Passage, the science of sailing ships and much more.

Astronomy and Space will also be to the fore, with a stargazing evening, a look at the role of microbes in space exploration, the possibility of extra terrestrial contact, and the latest news of research on gravitational waves. The 190th anniversary of the birth of James Clerk Maxwell will be marked, arguably one of the three greatest physicists of all time.

Biological topics include new genetics research into why Covid-19 affects some people more than others, new ideas on evolution and the origins of life, and living bees through the microscope.