Garik Israelian said: "Armenia has played an extraordinary role in the past, present and future of how we understand and explore our universe, and I'm looking forward to welcome this extraordinary range of thinkers and creatives to encounter this special place and share ideas." The festival was hold under the high patronage of the President of Armenia (9 April 2018 – 1 February 2022), Dr. Armen Sarkissian. He has invited Starmus to Armenia during his invited speech in 2019 at the opening ceremony of Starmus in Zurich. The Government of Armenia has supported and worked in partnership with organizers to make the festival an outstanding event. The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports and the Ministry of High-Tech Industry played an important role in different educational, scientific and artistic activities of the festival. The Festival Starmus in Yerevan was supported by UNESCO. Sonic Universe Concerts Open to the general public at large as well as the Starmus Festival delegates, the two Sonic Universe Concerts were held at the Magma Arte & Congresos, an arena in Tenerife. The first concert in 2011 featured Edgar Froese and Tangerine Dream, along with Brian May. Their performance was recorded and produced into a CD entitled "Starmus - Sonic Universe" in 2011 and is the only album to highlight both Tangerine Dream and Brian May. The second concert in 2014 featured Rick Wakeman and his band, accompanied by May. Progressive rock band Nosound also performed in 2014 at Starmus II, with this show recorded and produced into a CD/DVD set entitled Teide 2390. The Starmus II performance was special as it is the band's first full, live, recorded album. Star Party Each of the first two Starmus Festivals featured a star party with many participants traveling to the summit of Mt. Teide on Tenerife for dark sky observing. In addition to observing a variety of deep-sky objects with an array of telescopes, participants were entertained by the Italian progressive rock band Nosound. Astrophotography School The 2014 Starmus featured a small astrophotography school for enthusiasts who wanted to learn about imaging the sky and also have access to one of the darkest skies on Earth with their own equipment. For three days following the main Festival, on 28–30 September 2014, participants stayed at the observatories on Mt. Teide on Tenerife, and seminars took place featuring noted astroimagers Damian Peach and Rogelio Bernal Andreo, along with