  SHiP is a new general purpose fixed target experiment at the CERN SPS
designed to complement LHC experiments in the search for new physics. In its
initial phase, the $400$ GeV proton beam extracted from the SPS will be dumped
on a heavy target with the aim of integrating $2\times10^{20}$ pot in 5 years.
Shielded by an active muon shield, a dedicated detector, based on a long decay
volume followed by a spectrometer and particle identification detectors, will
allow probing a variety of models with light long-lived exotic particles with
masses below $\mathcal{O}(10)\; \mathrm{GeV}/{c^2}$. The main focus will be the
physics of the so-called Hidden Portals, i.e. search for Dark Photons, Light
scalars and pseudo-scalars, and Heavy Neutral Leptons. The sensitivity to Heavy
Neutral Leptons will allow for the first time to probe, in the mass range above
the kaon mass, a coupling range for which Baryogenesis and active neutrino
masses could also be explained. A dedicated emulsion-based detector will allow
detection of light dark matter in an unexplored parameter range.
