Electron-positron collisions at 209 GeV in LEP

The Large Electron-Positron Collider (LEP) at CERN closed down in November 2000. During the year 2000 electron-positron collisions were established at centre-of-mass energies of up to 209 GeV. The energy reach of LEP was thus extended by another 7 GeV compared to the year 1999. At the same time the luminosity production was kept high and the total delivered luminosity for the year was 233 pb/sup -1/. High beam energy and high luminosity extended the discovery reach of LEP. The successful energy increase of LEP is analysed and the operation and performance in the regime of ultra-strong damping is described.