Skip to content

Four-day light festival to brighten Birmingham

Emergency Exit Arts Lights showing a butterfly effect. They are mainly blue at the top, with a butterfly effect at the bottom being largely purple. Emergency Exit Arts
Installations would transform the city centre into an illuminated, open-air gallery, organisers said

Eleven artworks are to be installed in Birmingham as part of a festival that involves dozens of events.

A silent disco interactive artwork in Centenary Square and an illumination of words of poet Robert Montgomery in Hippodrome Square will be among the attractions at Birmingham Light Festival.

Three legacy commissions will remain following the schedule, including a lightbulb "speaking to" the historical achievements of the Jewellery Quarter in manufacturing, organisers said.

They said the festival would transform the city centre into an illuminated, open-air gallery from 19 to 22 February.

Artworks will include Positive Spin at the Mailbox - part fortune-teller, part fruit machine, a 5m-high interactive artwork generating "tarot readings, along with animated illustrations of the spinner's fortunes", organisers said.

In the Jewellery Quarter's St Paul's Square, Mycelium Network will use fibre-optic lighting to recreate underground fungal networks that help plants to grow.

Another installation will be Un-Reel Access, a glowing locked door at New Street station.

Collectif Scale Yellow and white straight beams of light in a line initially and there are other ones lower down, creating, overall, lines in a curve. Another group of lines of light is behind them.Collectif Scale
Flux, by a French design studio, will bring a display of dancing light beams and electronic music to Snow Hill Square

Events include Run the Lights, which will take joggers on a free 5km run taking in the illuminations.

Neon Paddle will be a guided night-time kayak tour through the canals, while in another initiative, dog owners are asked to don "their best light-up gear" and join Paws of Light, a dog walk starting in the Jewellery Quarter taking in the artworks.

Birmingham Light Festival Many yellow lights hung above Thorp Street. Some cars are parked on the right hand side of the photo. There are buildings to the left and right of the road.Birmingham Light Festival
Inspired by stars who pass through the Birmingham Hippodrome's stage door, Roof of Stars will be on Thorp Street

One of the legacy commissions is inspired by stars who pass through Birmingham Hippodrome's stage door, Roof of Stars on Thorp Street.

Another pays homage to the Brummie greeting - Alright Bab!

Birmingham Light Festival A large lightbulb, taller than one storey of a building, outside by water, with two buildings being at right angles to the water. A curved line of light goes above the water.Birmingham Light Festival
Ideas Happen Here will take the form of a lightbulb, "speaking to" the "historical achievements of the Jewellery Quarter in innovation, manufacturing and design"

Restaurants and bars will host events or introduce special menus to celebrate the light festival.

Bringing the Light will be a lantern procession along the canals from Roundhouse Birmingham to the CBSO Centre.

Lights will wind through the city on a heritage narrowboat, accompanied by music from the CBSO Chorus and harp player Katherine Thomas.

Birmingham Light Festival The words Alright Bab! are lit up in Colmore Square. Buildings are blurred in the background of the image at night.Birmingham Light Festival
Alright Bab! pays homage to the Brummie greeting

Birmingham Light Festival is produced by Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces and was founded in partnership by Colmore BID (Business Improvement District), Central BID, Jewellery Quarter BID, Southside District and Westside BID.

Caroline Davis, managing director of Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces (OPUS) and light festival executive producer, said: "Across the city centre, our public spaces will come alive with beautiful artwork and fun events for absolutely everyone to enjoy."

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

More on this story
Related internet links