‘Overheard in Bristol’ is the festival’s celebration of the city and its Bristolian ways. In 2020, visitors saw the popular phrase ‘Cheers Drive’ in blue neon lights. This year, the much-loved and iconic Bristolian welcome ‘Alright my Luvver’ will shine brightly in neon pink lights at the Bristol Bridge entrance to Castle Park, this nod to Bristol is sure to raise a few smiles!
Events - Press Releases
Everything you need to know about Bristol Light Festival 2022
The countdown is on! The city will soon be filled with playful, immersive, and intriguing light installations displayed at every turn.
23/02/2022
The countdown is on! The city will soon be filled with playful, immersive, and intriguing light installations displayed at every turn. It can mean only one thing, it’s time for Bristol Light Festival 2022.
The highly anticipated event will return from 1st – 6th March, creating a trail of captivating light artworks across the city centre from some of the UK’s most renowned artists and the best of Bristol talent. Ahead of the event, the final four light installations have been revealed which include an iconic Bristolian phrase lit up in Castle Park and an enormous disco ball in Millennium Square, both designed and commissioned by the Bristol Light Festival creative team. These final four installations complete the programme, totalling 14 pieces to see at this year’s festival, all making their first appearance in Bristol.
From 5pm-10pm, visitors will be able to wander through the city when the installations will shine a light in a few unexpected places as well as illuminating some of Bristol’s most iconic landmarks. This year, two daylight installations will add a new dimension to the event offering a chance to experience the event during the day.
Visitors are encouraged to plan ahead for their visit to Bristol Light Festival, considering sustainable travel arrangements as well as places they may like to eat, drink or stay in the city. Visit Bristol offers inspiration and information to help plan a trip into the city and this year, First Bus is offering a 30% discount on Bristol Zone Night bus tickets to and from the event, for more details on how to access the special promotion code visit www.firstbus.co.uk/lightfest.
Bristol Light Festival is presented by Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District (BID) working in partnership with Redcliffe and Temple BID, Arts Council England, Bristol City Council and Cabot Circus, and curated by the festival’s creative director Katherine Jewkes.
Overheard in Bristol – Castle Park
Disco Ball – Millennium Square
‘Disco Ball’ is an exciting new commission for this year’s event designed by the Bristol Light Festival creative team, set to transform Millennium Square into disco heaven. The Bristol Planetarium will be turned into a gigantic disco ball, projecting light across the square to disco ball themed podiums dotted across the area. Put on your dancing shoes and let the disco fever take over!
The Eyes - Trees are People too – Clare Street
Inflatable art specialists, Designs in Air, will be bringing ‘The Eyes’ to Bristol’s Old City area as a fun addition to the festival. Visitors will need to take a second glance when walking up Clare Street – as a pair of huge, illuminated eyes look straight back at them from a tree!
Sticking giant googly eyes in a tree gives it a unique character. Some of these leafy giants have been part of the city for centuries yet they often get ignored – if they could talk just imagine what stories they would tell! We hope people will look up and find themselves seeing eye to eye with a happy tree and have an unexpected chuckle. Definitely an eye-catching installation!
Sign Night - Hand Ships Sail - Arnolfini
‘Sign Night’, a poignant performance on film created and directed by Bristol-based Cathy Mager has been repurposed into ‘Sign Night – Hand Ship Sail’ for Bristol Light Festival, presenting a new edit of the performance never seen before.
The beautifully shot piece will be projected onto the side of Arnolfini on the Harbourside and is best viewed from the other side of the harbour, outside Revolución de Cuba.
The piece conveys a poetic conversation between two star-crossed lovers, inspired by the balcony performers of Wuhan and Lombardy, using British Sign Language (BSL) – the vital, visual and versatile language of British deaf communities.
