Light Night Leeds 2025: Full details and event timings as spectacular lights festival returns to city
The spectacular Light Night festival is set to transform Leeds once again this October.
Taking place between 6pm and 10pm on October 23 and 24, the hugely popular cultural showcase will be lighting up some of Leeds’s most recognisable buildings and locations for the 21st year with enthralling creations by artists from around the world.
This year’s event will celebrate some of the city’s historic civic buildings, modern architecture and public spaces as well as asking visitors to contemplate their own personal landmarks and the places which are important and memorable to them.
Key pieces will include an enchanting projection on the face of the iconic Queens Hotel celebrating 200 years of the modern railway. Entitled One Second Lovestory by German artist Dirk Rauscher, it captures the romantic moment when two people’s eyes meet at a busy train station and is sponsored by Markel.
Coun Salma Arif said: “Light Night Leeds is an event which truly exemplifies the very best of culture and life in the city, bringing thousands of people together for a collective experience which celebrates artistic ingenuity and the power of the arts to unite.
“The impact the event has on the city in terms of boosting our reputation as a cultural destination, supporting the local economy and promoting local and regional artists cannot be overstated, and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to what will be an occasion like no other.”
Leeds Civic Hall will also host a mesmerising new commission by Portuguese artists Ocubo, co-produced by the British Library. Entitled, Portals: The Machine of Worlds, it incorporates fantastical imagery from books in the library’s collection, inviting visitors to explore universes of science, illusion and discovery.
Working with cultural venues all over the city to create an inclusive, citywide festival, other installations will include large-scale projections, light artworks, performance and interactive pieces by international, national and Yorkshire-based artists. The full programme will be announced in the coming months.
Since it began in 2005, the event has grown in size, scope and popularity, with a record 210,400 people estimated to have attended last year over two days, an increase of five per cent on 2023. Last year’s Light Night Leeds also generated an estimated £5.46m for the local economy.