I visited Light Night 2024 and it's reaffirming Leeds' status as a city of culture

Light Night, a compelling mix of large-scale projections, live street theatre and interactive installations, stormed Leeds yesterday (October 24). 

It’s an event I have always looked forward to; it shows the beautiful city of Leeds - a place I have been grateful to call home my whole life - in a new light, literally. 

And for its 20th edition, the festival’s organisers did not hold back. 

We wanted to head down to the Queens Hotel in City Square first. The gingerbread house display last year was my favourite and I wanted to know how, if at all, it could be surpassed this year. 

But on our way - in Wellington Place - we stumbled across another installation. 

This was a series of interactive musicals, which contained circular halos. A little confusing to start, but we soon realised that the closer we were, the brighter and louder the halos became. 

Admittedly, we were a little tired from the work day (and the little trek we took to explore the new opening of Flannels earlier that day) but this smaller installation livened our spirits immediately and we walked to the city centre with a little more spring in our steps. 

We could hear the drummers of Spark! from City Square and headed to Trinity Leeds next.

I knew before arriving that this group was a Leeds favourite. Each year, there’s a strong crowd of hundreds of people waiting for their signature high-impact drumming, stunning costumes and kaleidoscopic lights. 

And this year was no different, each floor of the shopping centre was filled with people with jaws dropped, wide eye gazes and clutching their phone in hand to not miss the moment that only comes once a year. 

Our next stop was just a short walk away on Briggate, where we bumped into giant illuminated creatures. 

Part caribou, part spirit, these creatures are said to roam a mystical world after dark, accompanied by a wild herdsperson. 

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We also stumbled into two illuminated skeletons on The Headrow. These interactive finds as we made our way from one installation to another made it feel like the city was truly shut down for one night as we celebrated the arts and culture that Leeds is known for. 

I didn’t know what to expect when we joined a long queue at St John the Evangelist Church Gardens but MAPP, a mobile interactive video mapping system that turns your silhouette into a colourful projected image, was my favourite bit of the whole night. 

It was then time for the projection at Leeds Civic Hall which saw Out of the Aire return from its 2017 presentation with updated content. 

It celebrated Leeds as a centre of innovation and engineering first but what really got me was seeing the people and names who have made our city proud - Leeds Rhinos legends Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield, triathletes Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, Leeds Olympic champion Nicola Adams and more. 

Leeds has so much to be proud of - and we most certainly need to be louder about it. 

On our way to City Square, where we ended the night, we made a quick pit-stop to try some street food from local vendors. 

The pizza tots at Niko’s Comfort Kitchen, just outside Leeds Art Gallery, called to me most and only set me back £6. 

The Queens Hotel graced a stunning projection of a fairy tale figure leading a cast of birds, beasts and boats. 

It was in collaboration with the British Library and created by artists Illuminos and inspired by British Library’s Flickr Commons collection - and it was certainly the most beautiful art piece of the night. 

Light Night can often gather a bit of criticism but I think it’s just what Leeds needs. We cannot boast that we are a city of culture without backing it in ways like this.

And figures show it’s something the people of Leeds and beyond love. Over the past two decades, the event has attracted more than 1.1 million visitors - adults, students, working professionals and children - to the city and generates millions of pounds for the local economy.

Leeds Light Night continues tonight (October 25) from 6pm to 10pm. Visit the official website for more information.