LHC Long Shutdown: A Parenthesis for a Challenge

After three fruitful years of operation, the LHC will enter a long shutdown. Major works will be implemented to allow running safely at seven TeV/beam. The LHC superconducting circuits will be consolidated; mitigation measures will be carried out to reduce the single event effects occurrence in the frame of the Radiation To Electronics mitigation project (R2E); all the equipment will be fully maintained. In parallel, numerous consolidation and upgrade activities will be performed all around the 27 km ring. The schedule has been optimized in order to reduce the length of the shutdown (LS1) to 22 months (including hardware commissioning). The organization of the works is therefore essential to ensure a safe and reliable plan. This paper introduces the various activities to be performed and presents the schedule and the preparation process, including the operational safety aspects.