Birmingham Light Festival set to brighten up city centre next year

Birmingham Light Festival will brighten up the dark winter nights early next year.

The festival makes its debut from 19 to 22 February which will transform a series of city centre locations into a gallery of illuminated artworks, in what will become an annual multi-day event.

Aiming to create a sense of playful curiosity and spark joy, Birmingham Light Festival will feature at least eight light artworks, all within walking distance of each other, encouraging visitors to come together and explore the city.

Some of the illuminated artworks will remain in place after the festival, as organisers commit to brightening city spaces more permanently over time.

The Festival will be brought to life with an accompanying programme of events, to be announced in the New Year, with local organisations being invited to be a part of the line-up.

Organised by the City Curator and Produced by Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces (OPUS), Birmingham Light Festival is bringing together all five of Birmingham’s central Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) as founding partners of this major event for the very first time.

Colmore BID, Central BID, Southside District, Westside BID and Jewellery Quarter BID are working together to create a new and exciting experience for the people of Birmingham and beyond, to brighten up February’s dark nights.

The City Curator role, fully funded by Colmore BID, was created following ‘the ‘Future Business District’ study.

This unique study by Colmore BID analysed the long-term impact of the pandemic on city centre places, and outlined recommendations to ensure Birmingham can remain successful as a place to attract business and deliver cultural vibrancy, including the creation of a City Curator role.

The City Curator’s previous projects include the test installation, Light is Coming, which saw a giant, heart-shaped glitter ball and an accompanying silent disco arrive in Snow Hill Square in March.

Alex Nicholson-Evans, city curator, said: “As a city we need free, accessible arts and culture more than ever before and I am so excited that we’re able to provide exactly that through the debut of Birmingham Light Festival. We’ll no doubt all need some literal light relief in those challenging post-Christmas months!

“We really want to encourage people from across the region to visit the city-centre and experience Birmingham in a different way during the Festival. To be curious, to explore and to have a great time in this fantastic city!

“We also know how much local businesses will be in need of a trading boost at this time of year and our test event data tells us that Birmingham Light Festival will deliver that too. We can’t wait to share more about the amazing installations and events programme in January.”

From tomorrow, local artists, organisations and businesses will have the opportunity to respond to an open call for light-themed events, activities, or promotions, to coincide with Birmingham Light Festival and be included in the official programme of events. Expressions of Interest can be registered before 5 December.

To be the first to hear about Birmingham Light Festival 2025’s artworks, and programme of events, sign up to the mailing list follow on Instagram at @birminghamlightfestival.

Local artists, organisations and businesses can submit an expression of interest by clicking here.