Lumiere is the UK's largest light festival. The festival, produced by London-based creative company

Artichoke The globe artichoke (''Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green articho ...

, debuted in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

in 2009. The festival was part inspired by the

Fête des lumières The Festival of Lights (french: Fête des lumières) in Lyon, France, is a popular event that originally aimed at expressing gratitude toward Mary, mother of Jesus around December 8 of each year. This unique Lyonnaise tradition dictates that ever ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

. Hosted in winter time, and free to attend, the festival typically comprises a number of

light art Light art or The Art of Light is generally referring to a visual art form in which (physical) light is the main, if not sole medium of creation. Uses of the term differ drastically in incongruence; definitions, if existing, vary in several asp ...

-installations, as well as illuminating iconic buildings and locations. The festival takes place biennially in November in Durham, and since 2013 has occasionally toured to other locations, both reusing popular illuminations from Durham and creating new bespoke installations.

Durham

The first Lumiere festival took place in

in 2009 and has been recommissioned by

Durham County Council Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of County Durham in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, ...

every two years since then. 75,000 people attended the four-day event in 2009, the central exhibit of which was

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

illuminated with projected images from the

Lindisfarne Gospels The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV) is an illuminated manuscript gospel book probably produced around the years 715–720 in the monastery at Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, which is now in the ...

. The festival returned to Durham in 2011 at a significantly larger size, attracting more than 150,000 visitors and generating for the local economy. A further event was held in 2013 with crowds of 175,000 and highlights including a 3D projection of a walking elephant installed over the Elvet Bridge. The festival returned to Durham for the fifth time in November 2017, returned for its 10-year anniversary in November 2019, and then again in 2021 for the sixth festival. For the first time in its history, artworks were spread across Durham County, rather than being concentrated in Durham City Centre.

Elsewhere

Derry

In 2013 the light show was taken to

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

where almost 180,000 people visited 17 separate art installations around the city, including illuminated sculptures placed around the

Peace Bridge The Peace Bridge is an international bridge between Canada and the United States at the east end of Lake Erie at the source of the Niagara River, about upriver of Niagara Falls. It connects Buffalo, New York, in the United States to Fo ...

and projections on Austins department store. For the four nights of the festival, a fire garden was held at St Columb's Park.

London

In January 2016 the festival was brought to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for the first time, with light installations sited around

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cour ...

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable ...

, and King's Cross. The front of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

was illuminated with coloured light projected onto statues by artist Patrice Warrener. neon letters from the top of the

Centre Point Centre Point is a building in Central London, comprising a 34-storey tower; a 9-storey block to the east including shops, offices, retail units and maisonettes; and a linking block between the two at first-floor level. It occupies 101–103 ...

building were temporarily set up in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

and in

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicest ...

a 'Garden of Light' was created by French artists TILT, centred around the statue of William Shakespeare. On the Saturday, some installations had to be temporarily switched off and

King's Cross station King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the busiest stations in the United Kin ...

was evacuated due to overcrowding caused by the festival. In January 2018, the festival returned for its second London edition. For four days, over 50 works of art were on public display in King's Cross,

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia () is a district of central London, England, near the West End. The eastern part of area is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urban ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

, West End,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, Victoria,

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

, and Waterloo.

List of festivals

*2009: Durham *2011: Durham *2013: Derry *2013: Durham *2015: Durham *2016: London *2017: Durham *2018: London *2019: Durham *2021: Durham

Gallery

Image:Lumiere London 2016.jpg, Light sculptures transform

in London. Image:Westminster Abbey Lumiere London 2016.jpg, Coloured light projected onto

by artist Patrice Warrener. Image:Luminéoles at Lumiere London 2016.jpg, Luminéoles by Porté par le vent fly along Piccadilly London. Image:Durham Lumiere November 2015.jpg, Complex Meshes: A light projection on the ribbed vault ceiling of Durham Cathedral by artist Miguel Chevalier.

References

External links

* {{official website Arts festivals in England Festivals established in 2009