A New Era in Submillimetre Continuum Astronomy has Begun: LABOCA Starts Operation on APEX

In May 2007, the Large APEX Bolometer Camera LABOCA was commissioned as a facility instrument on the APEX 12-m submillimetre telescope located at an altitude of 5100 m in northern Chile. The new 870-μm bolometer camera, in combination with the high efficiency of APEX and the excellent atmospheric transmission at the site, offers unprecedented capability in mapping submillimetre continuum emission. An overview of LABOCA and the prospects for science are presented.