Dear Colleagues, The first day of RIPE 80, our first ever virtual RIPE Meeting, kicked off with 1,745 attendees and over a thousand more registered by day’s end. Here are the highlights. The meeting was opened by Hans Petter Holen, in his capacity as interim RIPE Chair, who welcomed attendees, thanking them for taking the time to come and try out a new kind of RIPE Meeting. Presentations throughout the plenary sessions were well attended with over 1,000 participating on Zoom and more joining in via the RIPE 80 livestream. In the final session, Hans Petter took to the virtual podium again to introduce himself as the new RIPE NCC Managing Director. After a short presentation of the RIPE NCC’s strategies, Hans Petter took questions and received numerous congratulations on his new position. Stay tuned to what’s happening at RIPE 80 by following @RIPEMeeting on Twitter and using the #RIPE80 hashtag. Kind regards, Martina de Mas RIPE Meetings Team