During the ceremony (see accompanying photos) the ING Director, Marc Balcells, presented Stephen Hawking with souvenirs from the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes. The event was attended by the President of the Cabildo de La Palma (La Palma Government), the Mayor of Santa Cruz de La Palma, other local-authority figures, and representatives of the Roque de Los
Muchachos Observatory. Professor Hawking continued his trip to the island of Tenerife where he was distinguished
as
IAC Honorary Professor, and a tribute was made to his work as a researcher and outreach disseminator at the
Starmus Festival.
The photos were taken by Carlos Aciego, Esther Medina and Javier Méndez.