Travel

10 BEAUTIFUL LIGHTS FESTIVALS AROUND THE WORLD NOW

Courtesy of Festival of Lights Berlin. Festival of Lights Berlin Sculptures.

1. FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS BERLIN -- GERMANY

Berlin gets decked out in Beautiful Lights during the annual Festival of Lights Berlin. It’s a fabulous event produced by the Guardians of Time, a group of artists let by Austrian artist Manfred Kielnhofer.

The event takes on a mystical air as artists in lighted costumes walk, like monks, through the city. “The Guardians of Time” refers to the ancient belief that since the beginning of time mankind has had protectors. And light is a way to convey the mystical expression of this protection.

2. VIVID SYDNEY -- AUSTRALIA

Once a year, Sydney turns into a Beautiful Lights extravaganza during the Vivid Sydney event. It’s not a Christmas holiday festival, but rather coincides with Australia’s winter holiday, which takes place in July, so you’ll have to wait a few months to enjoy.

Talented light artists and producers create stunning public light art installations throughout the city. If you didn’t think that the iconic Sydney Opera House could get any more beautiful, check it out as it is lit with a wild array of gorgeous light designs.

Buildings are turned into canvasses for light paintings. Architectural structures become magical light sculptures.

All this, with great music to keep the beat and a program full of performances, talks, and other events.

3. I LIGHT MARINA BAY -- SINGAPORE

i Light Marina Bay is Asia’s only sustainable light art festival.

Dozens of innovative and environmentally sustainable light art installations from around the world are featured.

Each year, the Marina Bay waterfront is transformed into a magical space of light and color. All works are created using recyclable materials and energy-efficient lighting technologies. Enjoy a rainbow of performances, programs and activities.

4. ORCHARD ROAD -- SINGAPORE

Every Christmas, Orchard Road in Singapore lights up into a fantasy land.

This 2.2 kilometre-long stretch of boulevard is the retail and entertainment hub of Singapore.

5. KOBE LUMINARIE -- JAPAN

Kobe Luminarie (神戸ルミナリエ?) is a light festival that has been held in Kobe, Japan, every December since 1995 to commemorate the Great Hanshin earthquake of that year and to serve as a symbol of hope.

The city dazzles with over 200,000 hand-painted lights donated by the Italian Government. Each installation is produced by designers Valerio Festi and Hirokazu Imaoka.

Silent prayers to victims of the great earthquake takes place in the opening ceremony, and a memorial naming those who were killed is posted during the night. Since 2011, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami were added to the commemoration.

6. BRADESCO SEGUROS CHRISTMAS TREELIGHTS -- RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

This year, the 19th annual Bradesco Seguros Christmas Tree Lights festival in Rio de Janeiro is sporting the world's biggest floating Christmas tree, according to the Guinness Book of Records. Thousands came out to watch its inaugural lighting.

The tree will be lit up every day until January 6. It is meant to symbolize the importance of light in our lives.

The Bradesco Seguros Christmas tree weighs 542 tons and stands 85 meters tall, equivalent to a 28-storey building. It is lit by 3.1 million miniature bulbs threaded along 120,000 meters of of wire, with 2,150 strobes, and 100 LED reflectors, all powered by five generators on barges.

7. ORNAMENTATION OF THE MEDELLIN RIVER -- MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA

Medellin goes light-crazy during its Ornamentation of the Medellin River festival. This year is the light celebration’s 50th anniversary.

Fantastical neon displays animate the city with over 497,097 miles of light strips and over 30 million light bulbs turn the whole region into a Beautiful Lights bonanza. The theme changes every year.

8. FÊTE DES LUMIÈRES -- LYON, FRANCE

During the Fête des Lumières, in Lyon, France, artists light up buildings, streets, squares and parks all over the city. Enjoy over 70 remarkable light installations and fireworks shows.

The festival culminates in a huge light show centred on the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière which dominates this pleasant city’s skyline.

If you are interested in submitting your own light art, the city takes applications each year, so get yours ready for 2015 now.

9. LUX -- HELSINKI, FINLAND

Light Festival Lux Helsinki lights up the long dark days of winter with light installations at 13 different locations around the center of the city. This year, the festival is part of the UN's International Light 2015 (International Year of Light).

Art galleries and museums from around Finland participate, with installations and performances by light and sound artists from around the world. Many are interactive, so it’s a lot of fun for all.

10. AMSTERDAM LIGHT FESTIVAL -- NETHERLANDS

The annual Amsterdam Light Festival razzles and dazzles for 50 straight (or not so straight ;) days and nights during the winter holiday period. Light sculptures, projections and installations by contemporary international artists are on display throughout the city.

Take a boat ride to see the Water Colors display as you past these brilliant lighted artworks along Amsterdam’s canals and the Amstel. The walking route, Illuminade, winds through the city center.

During the festival, Beautiful Lights is the theme throughout the city’s museums and institutions. Beyond the artworks, you can check out fascinating light-related activities and learn about innovations in light art.

The festival is also focused on sustainability. The lighting design high-tech, interactive and SMART.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Lights in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 12.21.2014. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

PHOTO CREDITS:

Photo: Courtesy of Festival of Lights Berlin. Festival of Lights Berlin Sculptures.
Photo: Courtesy of Festival of Lights Berlin. Festival of Lights Berlin Sculptures.
Photo: Courtesy of Vivid Sydney. Vivid Sydney Festival.
Photo: Courtesy of Vivid Sydney. Vivid Sydney Festival.
Photo: Courtesy of Vivid Sydney. Vivid Sydney Festival.
Photo: by S.L. Chan. i Light Marina Bay.
Photo: by Choo Yut Shing. Orchard Road, Singapore.
Photo: by famitan2. Kobe Luminarie.
Photo: Courtesy of Wide Island View. Kobe Luminarie.
Photo: by Leandro Neumann Ciuffo. Bradesco Seguros Christmas Tree Lights Festival.
Photo: by Augusto Serna. Ornamentation of the Medellin River.
Photo: by ctb-lyon. Fête des Lumières.
Photo: by Inkoming. Fête des Lumières. .
Photo: by Henri Kotka. Lux.
Photo: by Daniel Antal. Amsterdam Lights Festival.
Photo: by Daniel Antal. Amsterdam Lights Festival.
Photo: by Dennis Burger. Amsterdam Light Festival.
Photo: by kimubert. Kobe Luminarie 2013.