The Most ‘Lit’ Events Around the World – The Ultimate Global Lighting Event List
Our world is filled with extraordinary events year-round. Technology has provided us with unique entertainment styles and opportunities to shine a light on historical architecture, world-renowned structures, and extravagant lighting event shows. It is these famous lighting events that inspire Orange Frog’s own creativity for lighting design and pushes us to keep lighting the way to innovative new lighting techniques!
Vivid Sydney
Location: Sydney, Australia
Event Date: TBD
Showcasing some of the world’s most creative and aspiring lighting professionals, the Vivid Light is one lighting event not to be missed. This 23-day occasion features lighting sculptures, grand-scale projects, and some of the world’s best illumination displays. The event is free for all and takes place around the entirety of Sydney. Also known as the “world’s largest outdoor gallery,” be sure to stroll the streets of this warm city to take in the light!
Fête Des Lumières
Location: Lyon, France
Event Date: December
Stemming from traditional celebrations, the Fête Des Lumières was originally held to celebrate the installation of the statue of the Virgin Mary. When the original event was postponed due to bad weather, the city joined together to light up the night anyways. Ever since, Lyon, France has lit up their homes, shops, and streets with overwhelming amounts of light, and artists from across the globe come to share unique lighting shows for the public’s enjoyment.
Yee Peng Lantern Festival
Location: Chiang Mei, Thailand
Event Date: November
Celebrated on the full-moon of November, the Yee Peng Lantern Festival is one of the biggest lantern festivals around the world. People all over Chiang Mei release brightly lit lanterns into the sky to symbolize the ‘letting go’ of the misfortunes from the year before and making a wish for what is to come. Soon enough the sky is dazzling with lanterns that are only enhanced in beauty by the wonderfully lit streets, which offer other activities, food, and other ‘lit’ vendors.
Amsterdam Lighting Festival
Location: Amsterdam
Event Date: November-January
From the end of November until the end of January, the Amsterdam Lighting Festival hosts artists from various countries to display their works of light. The city becomes home to over 300 different art and light installations of all shapes and sizes. To view these exhibits, you can book a walking, boating, or biking tour to see them all.
Christmas in Medellín
Location: Medellín, Columbia
Event Date: December
For the most fantastic and ‘lit’ Christmas lighting event, you must travel to Medellín, Columbia. For the Christmas season (usually beginning on December 7th), Medellín is filled with over 30 million bulbs offering exceptional colour and design. Many of the Christmas displays can be found along the Medellín river, but they are also located throughout the local areas. Residents joyfully participate by opening up the shops and hosting activities for this wonderful seasonal event.
Festival of Lights
Location: Berlin, Germany
Event Date: October
Recognized as one of the biggest lighting events in the world, the Festival of Lights in Berlin lives up to its title. Light art is projected upon famous landmarks and monuments (such as the Brandenburg Gate and Berlin Cathedral), and through digital design, these popular locations come alive. Artists use these famous canvases to project stories and messages in a distinctive way that are entertaining for local and tourist alike!
Illuminart
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Event Date: February – March
Taking place throughout downtown Montreal, the Illuminart lighting event is one to add to the bucket list. This week-long event features “new circuit fusing art, lighting and technology” to display some truly fantastic displays throughout the city. Every year this event becomes possible through the hard work of artists, engineers, set designers, graphic designers, and videographers from Montreal and elsewhere. All 25 displays are accessible around the city and are free for the public to come and observe.
Lux Helsinki
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Event Date: January
Yet another light festival event that takes place across the globe is the Lux Helsinki lighting event. Available to the public for 5 days, the event features “specially commissioned new works and popular installations for international light festivals.” Using famous architecture and local attractions, Helsinki’s buildings are transformed to something fantastical! Free of charge to all, guests can travel the event’s route to see everything – an amazing event for all ages!
Kobe Luminarie
Location: Kobe, Japan
Event Date: December
In memory of the 6,000 that were lost in the Great Hanshin Earthquake, every winter in Kobe, Japan a lighting display is presented. The event is known to draw in thousands of visitors from all over the world to see these remarkable illuminated works of art of various colours, patterns, and styles. The Kobe Luminarie festival borrows upon the Italian lighting ideas and each year lights are ordered to commemorate this heart-warming event.
The next vacation get-away you decide to take, make it a retreat to one of these ‘lit’ locations and absorb all the wonders that these lighting event spectacles have to offer!