The reception was organised in the BELvue museum in Brussels, and about 150 people attended - chiefly EWEA members and VIPs from the European Institutions. In the main hall, the twelve pictures were laid on wooden easels and laid out in a semi-circle around the speakers’ podium.

“I was thrilled by the high number of entries and the inspiration emanating from the photos. Wind energy has really become dear to photographers' hearts”, commented Christian Kjaer, EWEA CEO. Before coming into the main hall, the invitees received a welcoming cocktail in the underground section of the museum, which is called the Coudenberg. Running beneath the Belgian royal palace, the Coudenberg displays the remaining walls of the original Brussels palace, built in the late 11th and 12th centuries, and destroyed in 1731 by a huge fire.

Arthouros Zervos, President of EWEA, was “very pleased to meet so many friends that have contributed to the development of EWEA as an association, and to the growth of wind energy in Europe.”
The contest was launched on 15 June 2007, while the European Wind Day was taking place across European countries, regions and cities for the first time. Over the summer, photographers from all over Europe took pictures of wind turbines and sent them to Photo, the renowned French photography magazine and partner of the event.

The winner of the first edition of the European wind energy photography competition is a Greek photographer. The shot was taken by Mihalis Konstandinidis, at Sidirokastro wind park near the town of Serres.

EWEA is now gathering requests for exhibiting the twelve pictures across Europe: the first exhibition will be held at EOW2007 in Berlin - see the website. If you want to organise an exhibition, please contact EWEA’s Communication Department: [email protected] tel. +32 (0)2 400 10 55. The pictures can be downloaded from the EWEA website.
 
To visit the European Wind Day website click here