See your city in a different light!

On Friday 7th October as darkness draws across the city let us LIGHT up your night with Light Night.

Become a tourist and rediscover Leeds as we map out an evening of extraordinary activities. From city streets, shopping arcades, museums, libraries, theatres and prison cells there will be a magical mix of performances, exhibitions, installations and participation.

Look behind closed doors, peek into dark corners and step out onto rooftops. With over 40 venues and 75 events lighting up the city you will see actors, poets, musicians and artists sharing their work with you. Our events stretch across the city centre, from the University to the river we have events for all ages to delight and intrigue you.

Where else can you see the view from the 18th Floor of West Riding House, come face to face with Queen Titania in an experience of opera that is intimate, emotional and direct? Hear ghost stories in the Brotherton Library and visit secret gardens in Victorian cells?

If you want to tell your friends what you’re up to – then send them a message via our Steampunk Semaphore and meet them at the temporal searchlight on the market. If this doesn’t quench your appetite you can always get your own personalised poem from the poetry takeaway van. Keep a look out for our nymphs and illuminated umbrellas for on the night information of where to go and what to see. Most of the work included on Light Night is site specific, one off pieces, never to be shown again. This is your chance to explore – shake off your usual routine, stop, think and look around – you will be surprised what you see.

Light Night is co-ordinated by the Arts & Regeneration Team from Leeds City Council in partnership with organisations and individuals from across the city. We would like to thank everybody involved for the huge amount of time and effort they have put in. We could not do it without you! We also extend our thanks to the volunteers who will be helping us on the night.

As this wave of memories flows in, the city soaks it up like a sponge and expands. A description of Zaira as it is today should contain all Zaira’s past. The city, however, does not tell its past, but contains it like the lines of a hand, written in the corners of the streets, the gratings of the windows, the banisters of the steps, the antennae of the lightning rods, the poles of the flags, every segment marked in turn with scratches, indentations, scrolls."

Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities