Nottingham Light Night 2024

Taking place on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 February 2024, this free, family-friendly event promises to light the city and bring warmth to the depths of winter.

Old Market Square will be dappled with light from Our Beating Heart – a rotating sculpture featuring thousands of mirror fragments. The installation will accompany a beating heart soundtrack and mash-up of heart-themed songs produced by local DJ Jez Prince X HAZE, with additional lighting designed by Luminism.

This is Loop – who brought PULSE to last year’s event – have created Geist, a brand-new large-scale light installation inspired by the elusive neutrino, or ‘ghost particle’. Geist is making its international debut at Canary Wharf in London before it heads to Sneinton Market Square.

At Nottingham Castle, visitors can see a collection of neon lights created by Chila Kumari Burman, whose work has recently been shown in Manchester, Brighton, and London’s Tate Britain. Additionally, an art exhibit created by Bluecoat Aspley Academy students will be projected onto the walls of Nottingham Castle, near the Robin Hood Statue.

Tom Dale Company returns to Nottingham Contemporary with UBX: SUCCESSION – an immersive, audio-visual, genre-breaking dance performance with exclusive new music from producer ITAL TEK.

There will be many more exciting live events across the city as part of Light Night, including a selection of pop-up carnival performances presented by City Arts, bringing colour and energy to the city’s new civic space outside Nottingham Central Library. Music and belly dancing performances will also be taking place at Binks Yard, illuminated by the Canal & River Trust’s Waterfall of Lights cascading down from the roof.

St. Mary's Church is hosting another multi-sensory experience called Standing Ground. Using AI-generated image sequences, it explores our relationship with nature.

Another highlight will be a six-metre-tall inflatable light sculpture, The World Has Gone Pear Shaped, on Sussex Street. Using NASA’s high-resolution 3D images, the illuminated project highlights how humankind is altering the earth and is a playful take on the dystopias of our time.

There are more installations, exhibitions, and activities to explore across the city centre, including Green’s Windmill, Nottingham Trent University’s Newton Building, William Booth Memorial Centre and Nottingham College Art School.

Plan your visit

Visitors can plan their visit and itineraries and read more about the installations using the free It’s in Nottingham App, which is available to download on the IoS App Store and Google Play.

Featuring a map and information about the main city centre artworks and interactive events, plus cosy restaurants, bars and coffee shops to warm you up in between.

There will also be several printed guides available from the Tourist Information Centre and at key locations on the day or you can download it here.

Nottingham Light Night is sure to illuminate everyone’s imagination. With stunning light-based displays for all ages to enjoy, whether it's a low-cost family trip out, or for anyone eager to get the perfect shot for their Instagram.

Plan your journey

Catch the bus to Light Night for just £2 (single fare) with NCT or Trent Barton, thanks to the government-funded Help for Households initiative.

NCT also offers a Grouprider ticket which covers up to 5 people for £8 (there has to be at least 1 adult (aged 19 or over) and no more than two adults).

NET offers a Grouprider ticket for 1 or 2 adults and up to 3 children for £8.50, Monday - Friday after 4pm and at weekends.

Park at the Broad Marsh car park for £8 between 5pm and 2am each evening.

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