It's hard to believe that after so many months of waiting and behind-the-scenes planning that Celebration Europe is over.  July 13th - 15th brought Star Wars home to, as Stephen Sansweet called it, "It's spiritual home."  And indeed it was home, to anybody there who's Star Wars born and bred, like me. 

But this affectionate look back at that crazy July weekend isn't just about my memories.  Here you'll see photo's and video's, hear audio clips and interviews and read the thoughts and memories of many.  From fans, cast members and Lucasfilm staff this will be a unique and heartfelt tip of the hat to the biggest Star Wars day the UK has ever seen.  So, grab your Lightsabre, remember the thrill of last nights Battle of the Bridge and go back to 15th July 2007 and the final day of Star Wars Celebration Europe...

  Sunday 15th July 2007

10:30 -- 11:00 and 11:30 -- 12:00 The Clone Wars - THE PLATINUM STAGE
Go behind the scenes with the crew of the extraordinary new Star Wars television series, The Clone Wars, and see an amazing trailer of footage projected on the big screen with full stereo sound. Each day, for two special showings, Lucasfilm's Steve Sansweet will introduce an exclusive video presentation interview with Catherine Winder, producer of The Clone Wars, and Supervising Director Dave Filoni.

11:00 -- 11:30 The Vader Hot Air Balloon Project
Video presentation of the making of the Vader balloon.

11:45 - 12:30 Vintage Indy: Jones Old Boys - MAIN STAGE
Norman Reynolds, Robert Watts, and Lorne Peterson, veterans of the classic Indiana Jones movies, share stories about their adventures with the "man with the hat" with MC Davis.

11:45 -- 12:45 Fan Force Presentation
The Fan Force -- Who are they? And how do you join? Members give you a rundown on one of the largest non-official Fan Clubs.

12:30 - 13:30 Billy Dee Williams - THE PLATINUM STAGE
The multi-talented actor, painter, and writer brought us Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. See him on stage in this exclusive Celebration Europe interview.

13:00 -- 13:15 Droid Hunt Winners Presentation
If you're a winner in the 501st Droid Hunt (check the 501st booth for the list of winners), then make your way here for the prize giving!

13:00 -- 14:00 Charlie Ross: One Man Star Wars Trilogy - MAIN STAGE
Ross presents all three movies of the original trilogy by himself -- that's by himself -- with the help of his talented voice, perfect grasp of the movies, and totally entertaining performance.

13:30 -- 14:30 Lords of the Sith: Costuming on the Dark Side
This panel specifically addresses Darth Vader and Darth Maul. Special consideration is given to Darth Maul make-up application.

14:00 -- 16:00 Star Wars Vintage Toy charity auction to benefit Make-A-Wish - THE PLATINUM STAGE
The Lucasfilm Licensing archives has contributed rare treasures of vintage Star Wars toys, in this very special auction to benefit the Make-A-Wish foundation in Europe.

14:30 -- 15:30 Empire Magazine Trivia Challenge - MAIN STAGE
Who will be the trivia champion of Celebration Europe? Host Warwick Davis will lead the challenge, as the finalists in Empire's Star Wars trivia challenge battle it out for top honours and awards.

14:45 -- 15:00 Jedi vs. Jedi, Mustafar Reenacted
Two Jedi duel in a scene based on the Mustafar sequence in Episode III.

15:00 -- 15:30 Droid Demonstration
The droids are back, and this time we get to test their mettle. The droid handlers will demonstrate their creations in motion, and test their agility!

16:00 -- 17:00 The Force Amongst Us
Moviemakers Cristian and Cortney Macht will present clips from their new documentary that is all about the fans right in our midst.

Mark - "Well, whaddya know, there she is again.  To be fair she really was a head turner and quite clearly made all of us who were 12 when Carrie first wore the bikini feel pretty much like 12 year olds all over again."

Anthony - "Mark Hamill talked today about his experiences during the filming of the Original Trilogy.  Dagobah – During the filming of these scenes he felt very lonely because no-one but him and Yoda during a LOT of the filming.  Mostly due to secrecy.  He also gave us a very Brief insight to his next big project “Black Pearl”  This is going to be a comic book adaptation on the Silver screen.  This will “Not be appropriate for children/younger viewers”  Filming for this movie is due to start in January and will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival.  Towards the end of his appearance he mentioned his views on the Star Wars Special Edition Jabba/Han scene change in the spaceport.  He was not very impressed that “The Irishman that was turned into a giant Slug”.   Right at the end of the appearance one of the fan questions was “Will you do Star Wars Episode Seven if George asks?”  His reply was very interesting…When filming A New Hope, George asked him if he would like to play himself when he was older.  Mark said “How much older” George replied, “Oh, about Obi-Wan’s age”.  This would be in approximately 2012.  Mark said he would and when pressed on the subject he said he would be willing to take the role on again.  Very exciting."

Gerald Home - International Guest of Honour - Tessek proves his pedigree

Will and Gerald

Photo from Will Dyson

Mark - "During the weekend Gerald must have been made honorary member of about a dozen associations, mainly foreign ones. Italy, Spain, Poland, Hungary, you name it they came.  Plus, speaking about five languages can't hurt.  I'm quite jealous, I can just about scrape by in English."

Rebecca - "He is an absolute sweetheart of a man, a treasure.  If we ever get round to having kids, he'll be godfather."

Mark - "This photo is very special because we had worked our arses off all weekend, we were tired, our feet hurt, Bex had hardly slept and I think we were going on adrenaline alone.  The last afternoon we must have told a hundred people that NO, we don't sell Lightsabre's and these are our own.  Didn't stop me selling mine on though.  But Gerald was a star.  He'd initially agreed to work just the Saturday, and then came back on the Sunday and did better than Saturday, which had been a total sell out."

Mark - "I think the photo shows how pleased we all were with how it went.  We'd said goodbye to a bunch of people, including Stephen from GEN who dropped by one last time to say ta-ra.  Gerald's Hungarian friend Attila took this, and kept guard as me and Gerald went to our 'special place' and sorted out the finances.  Yes Gerald, 'We'll always have Paris'.  Or should that be Docklands..."

Mark - "It was pretty awesome, by now I think Stephen was quite relaxed in our company and we certainly were in his.  He took a look at Bex's now-famous Yoda back pack and did a whole evaluation on it.  What make it was, what was so special about it, you name it.  I reckon there can't be that many folks who've got a collectible in their collection that's been personally appraised by Stephen Sansweet.  But we do now!"

Mark - "What Chris is forgetting to mention is that on the afternoon when we'd collected some stuff for the archive we bumped into Shannon on the stairway and, because I was blindly following Chris, we pursued Shannon into the ladies toilets.  That could have been a notorious showbiz moment right there."

Mark - "It was a bitter-sweet night because while on the one hand we were chatting and having fun with these new friends, and on the other hand we were kind of saying goodbye to them as well.  Who knows, we may never actually cross paths with Bonnie, Joe, Chris, Lori, Randy or even any of our fellow fans again.  It made me think how lucky I am to be a fan of something so unique and so powerful, that it can bring all these folks together for a rocking good time.  I can't wait for the next one here in the UK, and if there isn't then we're chartering a plane and taking the lot of us to the States for C5.  I just hope Sir Clive Sinclair isn't arranging the transport..."

Mark - "I remember saying goodbye to a bunch of folks, me and Joe Corroney giving each other a hug because he'd been so cool to us.  Bonnie asking Iain's name, introducing herself and then giving him a hug goodbye, all within twenty seconds!  Bonnie and Bex seemed to get on brilliantly, which was very sweet to see.  Louis gave her a datakey with some pics and video footage, we all hugged - it was very sweet - and we began to leave.  We also bumped into Richard LeParmentier, on the cusp of turning 60 and trying to find someone.  My last memory of the night was talking to Jedi Iain outside the Novotel and not really wanting to say goodnight, because I knew the show would really be over.  But, you have to go sometime so we waved a bunch of the gang off and managed to find a taxi back to the Holiday Inn."

Chris - "Celebration Europe was a most excellent gathering of finest scum, villiany, and monsters in the galaxy...Mark, Bex, and Louis were great hosts for all the Yanks in the Dockyards.  It was a great show...in a great city...Cheers London!"

Bonnie Burton - "Thanks again for making my CE so much damn fun!"