Always a popular event across the city of Bristol, the Light Festival illuminates the city for around ten days during the winter. It features an array of stunning light installations, visuals and interactive exhibits that Bristolians and visitors alike can explore.
From musical swings, to light tunnels, sculptures, and more, it’s become a staple in Bristol’s winter calendar. Imagine wrapping yourself up all cosy and warm, venturing out with the family, and exploring some or all of the magical sights to behold.
Here’s all we know so far about Bristol Light Festival’s 2025 event – from how much it costs, to where it’s taking place, and for how long…
When is Bristol Light Festival 2025?
Bristol Light Festival is set to return to Bristol for ten days between January 31 and February 9, 2025, between 5pm and 10pm each day.
Where is Bristol Light Festival 2025? And how to get there
Artworks will be located around the city for people to find, explore and enjoy. You can find a full list of artworks below. A map will also be unveiled on the official website soon.
There are plenty of ways to get to the festival, as well as around the city. These include:
Travel by train
Bristol Temple Meads is the largest railway hub in the west of England with direct services to and from London, Scotland, Wales, Manchester and Birmingham. Trains from Severn Beach now run twice an hour, stopping at Lawrence Weston, Clifton and Stapleton Road. The majority of installations are within a 20 minute walk of Bristol Temple Meads.
Travel with Great Western Railway:
- Book ahead – Book early and save 50%
- GroupSave – discounts of 1/3 off fares when 3-9 people travel together. Simply search for tickets with the number of people travelling and the discount will be applied automatically
- Long Weekender – travelling from London Paddington? Leave on a Friday or Saturday, return on a Monday and save over 60% compared to an Anytime Return
You can plan your journey, check timetables, book tickets and find out more at GWR.com.
Travel by bus
Bristol is well served by a number of fast and convenient bus and coach services.
Bristol Bus & Coach Station is a walkable distance to all festival installations and permanently features Bristol Light Festival’s 2020 installation, Cheers Drive.
Travel to the festival with First Bus:
- Single tickets from anywhere in West of England: Adult £2.40, child £1
- Travel as a group of up to 5 from anywhere in Bristol for £13
- Travel as a group of up to 5 from anywhere in West of England for £14
Travel around the festival:
- Enjoy unlimited travel for the day in the Bristol zone and explore all installations with a hop on / hop off ticket: Adult £6.50, child £3.30.
Park & Ride service
Park & Ride services offer an easy and comfortable way of travelling into the city. Please be aware that each Park & Ride service operates different start and finish times, with some services finishing early evening. Park & Ride options include:
Brislington – South East of Bristol
Long Ashton – South West of Bristol
Lyde Green – North East of Bristol
Parkway North – North of Bristol
Portway – North West of Bristol
Yate – North East of Bristol
Travel by car
With over 11,000 parking spaces in the city centre, there are plenty of car parks nearby the festival installations. Cabot Circus’ evening rate means you can park from 5pm-7am, Monday-Sunday for just £3. Alternatively, you can view all car parking options below.
As of November 2022, Bristol’s Clean Air Zone is in effect where some cars will be liable to pay a charge for entering Bristol city centre. You can find out more about the CAZ here.
Rent an e-scooter or e-bike
Go green and use a Dott E-scooter or E-bike to travel to and from the festival.
Users will need to download the Dott app (available on IOS and Android) and create an account. To ride an e-scooter users must prove they are over the age of 18 with a valid full or provisional driving licence to ride. E-bikes are available to anyone over the age of 16.
Rent a bicycle
Stay active and hop on a bike for a two-wheeled exploration around the city. With so many independent bike shops in Bristol, travel around the festival in style with a bike or e-bike.
Hire options include:
Brompton Bikes – Hire a bike for just £5 a day!
Blackboy Hill Cycles – A fun, affordable way to get around the city
EcoMove – Reasonably priced electric bike hire
Mollie’s – Ride in style with a vintage bike from Mollie’s
Pedal Progression – Push bikes and e-bikes available
Bristol Ferry Boats
Explore the festival with Bristol Ferry Boats, offering a unique perspective of the festival by water. With 45-minute tours running to and from the City Centre Ferry Landing, hop on board and enjoy a unique journey. Experience two exciting installations visible on board before discovering the remaining installations on land. Pre-book your tickets in advance or pay by card on board.
Tickets for the full 45-minute tour are £8 for adults and £7 for children. For customers hopping on and off from different stops, fares will be between £3-5.
How much do tickets cost?
No tickets or booking are required to attend. This is a 100% free event open to everyone.
What can I see and do at Bristol Light Festival 2025?
The festival is best enjoyed at a gentle pace, and organisers suggest spending about 20 minutes at each installation. With ten days to explore, you can enjoy the festival at your own pace. Walking the entire festival in one day takes around three hours, depending on your walking speed and time spent at each installation. It’s worth noting that there may be queues at busier times (Thursday – Sunday).
Each year, the Bristol Light Festival features signature installations from internationally renowned artists alongside local creators’ works. Here’s a list of all of the installations announced so far:
C-Scales by Bruce Munro Studio
C-Scales is an audio-visual installation originally created for the Cutaway at Barangaroo Reserve, Sydney Harbour. For the Bristol iteration, an array of animations will be projected onto a suspended façade of more than 1,800 CDs and DVDs.
The resulting reflections paint the architecture and visitors with shimmering threads of light, resulting in a subtly immersive installation. Artist Bruce Munro is a Bristol Polytechnic graduate and a world-renowned artist whose work has been exhibited worldwide from Uluru to California.
Our Beating Heart by Studio Vertigo
Our Beating Heart brings the mirror ball principle to a grand scale and is inspired by the idea of shared love and the disco ball’s ability to bring people together. Dapples of light dance and shift, transforming buildings and streets, making each surrounding surface appear to blend into the next.
Studio Vertigo is an art and design collective based in the UK, led by artists Lucy McDonnell and Stephen Newby. The studio creates light installations and sculpture for international exhibitions. Studio Vertigo has created work for numerous exhibitions around the world, including Amsterdam Light Festival, Seoul Light DDP, Taiwan Lantern Festival and Vivid Sydney.
Ramandu’s Table by Bruce Munro Studio
Taking inspiration from the original plastic pink flamingo creator, Don Featherstone, and from CS Lewis’ literature, Ramandu’s Table will showcase nature in a whole new light. The installation, a flock of white flamingos, illuminated with an array of continually changing dawn hues, brings a new layer of artistry to the traditional flamingo statue associated with frontyards in America.
Artist Bruce Munro wants audiences at Bristol Light Festival to enjoy the piece for exactly what it is – a vibrant depiction of some of nature’s most flamboyant and gregarious creatures. Bruce is a graduate of Bristol Polytechnic and a world-renowned artist whose work will bring a burst of nature and colour to this year’s event.
Somnius by Illumaphonium
Following a dazzling debut at Bristol Light Festival in 2023 with their double offering of Continuum and Halo, Illumaphonium is returning once more to combine light and sound with their latest work, Somnius.
Somnius is a cosmic blend of light and sound that responds to every movement of the audience. As crowds gather and grow, so does the artwork’s soundscape and reactive illuminations, immersing everyone in a playful environment that puts them in control of their experience. Its appearance at Bristol Light Festival will be the installation’s South West debut.
Illumaphonium is a duo of artists based in the South West that specialise in large scale interactive installations transforming locations into a place for music and discovery. Somnius is no exception and its combination of music and light is sure to take audiences to a place of imagination and escape.
Swing Song by Bristol Light Festival
Bristol Light Festival favourite Swing Song is back, and better than ever! The two sets of three swings use tracks that were produced especially for the festival, with each swing controlling a different musical element.
Users have a choice of percussion, bassline and melody, and each movement contributes to the symphony alongside a dynamic light show. Swing Song is a Bristol Light Festival creation which will soon be going on tour, to bring a taste of Bristol’s creativity to the world.
The Whilers by Air Giants
A world premiere for Bristol Light Festival, The Whilers will be wowing crowds as they interact with each other and with passersby. The Whilers are otherworldly creatures on a journey into the unknown who are stopping only briefly in Bristol to interact with its residents and each other. They use non-verbal sounds and language to communicate with one another and to take notice of individuals for an immersive and awe-inspiring experience.
Air Giants are a Bristol-based team coming from diverse backgrounds with broad experience in theatre design, software development and access and inclusion. Their work is centred around connection and companionship and their pneumatically-controlled robotic creations, made using cutting-edge robotics research, are emotionally expressive to better connect with audiences.
Are dogs welcome? And will food and drink be available?
Dogs are welcome at all outdoor festival locations. Organisers say they love seeing furry friends enjoying the installations, but please keep them on a lead and ensure they’re comfortable in larger crowds.
Bristol’s city centre offers a variety of cafes, bars and restaurants near the installations, providing plenty of options for you to explore and enjoy during your visit.
When will we know more about Bristol Light Festival 2025?
More information and updates on the 2025 Bristol Light Festival will be released in the coming weeks. Stay tuned, or stay updated by keeping an eye on the official website, here.