Festival of Light gets off to a dazzling start

The invitation-only preview allowed children and their families to visit the festival at a time when the park is quieter.

Those attending were treated to stunning light projections created by international visual artists, a spectacular starscape and giant glitterballs in the Victorian bandstand.

Councillor Beth Jones, Sunderland City Council's Cabinet Member for Communities Culture and Tourism, said: "It was  lovely to see so many young people and their families having a fantastic time at the preview evening and enjoying the new displays.  

"The Festival of Light has long been one of our best loved events. It's always a really popular event and one that attracts generations of families.

"We've got some fantastic new light installations this year. And the light projections especially, which have been created by world-class artists, are real showstoppers.

"There's also a brilliant new Laser Garden and some lovely atmospheric UV lighting among the trees. While there are also some really nice quirky things such as the giant glitter balls in the bandstand - which are the centrepiece of our nightly silent disco. So it's definitely one to get in the diary."

Cllr Michael Mordey, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: "Events like this are not only fantastic for residents and visitors alike but for also for our city centre.

"Lots of people coming along to enjoy the Festival of Light will also take the opportunity to visit our city centre cafes, bars and restaurants while they're here, or they might decide to do some early Christmas shopping. So it helps to boost the local economy and our city centre businesses

"It's also a great opportunity for anyone who hasn't been into the city centre for a while to see the £2bn transformation that's underway at the same time as enjoying an excellent event."

New lighting features introduced for 2024 include 'The Mirror' created by Poland based award-winning visual artist Ari Dykier and 'Hypha' by French award-winning multidisciplinary artist Sebastien Labrunie.

Other new features include Starscape which will create the illusion of a brilliant white starfield, Cosmic Oasis which will see trees lit up with UV light, a laser garden and a giant glitter ball in the park's historic Victorian bandstand.

The Festival of Light begins today Friday 25 October and will then take place from 4.30pm - 10pm every day during half term Friday 25 October to Sunday 3 November and then 4.40 to 10pm every Thursday to Sunday until Sunday 24 November with the exception of Remembrance Sunday on 10 November. Last admission will be at 8.30pm, and the event will close at 10pm each night. This year's event is being held in Mowbray Park, Burdon Road, SR1 1PP in Sunderland city centre, with access from the Toward Road entrance to the park (oppostie the Software Centre).  

Tickets cost £5 each and must be bought online in advance. They can't be bought at the gate. Children under two are free.

Visitors to this year's festival can also take advantage of 20 per cent off tickets for select performances of this year's Jack and the Beanstalk panto at the Sunderland Empire.

The offer will apply to price bands A - C for the following performances only: Fri 13 Dec - 7pm, Sat 14 Dec - 5.30pm, Sun 15 Dec - 5.30pm, Tue 17 Dec - 7pm & Thu 19 Dec - 7pm. To redeem the offer, make sure to opt in to hear from Sunderland City Council events when buying your tickets.

For more information tickets and to buy tickets for the Festival of Light, visit: www.mysunderland.co.uk/fol