Vilnius bought actual stars in the night sky to promote its restaurant scene

The new constellation will be known as “G’Astronomic Vilnius” and you can see it on the Night Sky app

The City of Vilnius has been growing confident of its local culinary scene in the past years, however, international recognition has been slow to come as the Lithuanian capital still has no Michelin star awarded to an establishment there.

As a response, the local tourism board Go Vilnius has taken a bold and creative step by purchasing the rights to and registering three very real stars in the constellation Fornax. Linking them together, the marketing experts created a brand new constellation called “G’Astronomic Vilnius” – hats off for the double entendre there. The constellation was then presented as a gift to the local restaurant industry with the nod that until a Michelin star arrives in the city, they can all boast of having 3 real space stars.

Branding has gone to Space

The celestial bodies (known as Alpha, Beta and Nu Fornacis) are visible in autumn and winter and are located 46.43, 177.99, and 371.05 lightyears away. Looking up, most people wouldn’t be able to discern them easily but this is where modern technology lends a helping hand. You can observe “G’Astronomic Vilnius” thanks to the Night Sky mobile app.

The certificate confirming the registration of the stars on the Star Registration website has been presented to Evalda Šiškauskienė, President of the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association, and Jaroslav Orševski, President of the Lithuanian Chefs and Confectioners Association.

The presented constellation was also brought down to Earth in a form more accessible to food and star enthusiasts—a light artist Kotryna Čalkaitė rendered its imagery in an installation displayed on the MO Museum terrace, which itself is located in a favoured gastro district of the capital city.