In two weeks, Worcester’s city centre will be transformed as Light Night returns for the fifth time. 

Light Night Worcester 2024 is taking place on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 February from 6 – 9pm. The event, managed and delivered by Severn Arts, is free to access and suitable for all ages.

FREE drop-in workshops, Crowngate Shopping Centre 
On the days leading up to Light Night (10, 11, 12 and 13 February) from 10am – 4pm you can join artists Lou Baker and Oly Bliss as they make sculptures to add to their immersive, glow-in-the-dark installation. Using second-hand items from local charity shops, some UV materials and your imagination, come and have fun making quirky glowing objects to transform the space. It’s suitable for all and materials are provided.  

Meet the artists!
On Thursday 15 February from 5 – 5.45pm in The Hive Studio you can join Light Night’s artistic programmer, Lucy Dusgate and artists Paul Alty, Halina Rice, Anna Best and Oliver Bliss as each artist gives an insight into their own art, and together they discuss developing a career in performance and installation art. No booking is necessary but please note space is limited. 

From 6 – 9pm on both nights visitors will be able to see: 

• Kinetic Perspective by Juan Fuentes - On Cathedral Square discover the intricate patterns and distortions of this 20-metre-long installation of spinning circles creating immersive geometric illusions that will thrill and captivate.
• Black Hole – End of Time by Paul Alty - In St Helen’s Church walk through this continuous multi-media experience and immerse yourself in the lighting, lasers and projections set to a sensational electronic soundtrack. Please note strobe lights are used in this installation.
• Stained Glass Window - See from outside St Andrew’s Methodist Church the rainbow colours of the fabulous 1960s stained glass window designed by Arthur E. Buss illuminated and shining brightly in the night.  
• Evanescent by Atelier Sisu - On Cornmarket car park wander within the shimmering large-scale spheres which create an immersive light and sound environment and capture the ethereal quality, transience, and magic of bubbles.
• The People’s Popup Pavilion by Ludic Rooms - On the High Street join the flashing lights and all the fun of the fair at this special sideshow structure where you'll find the You Can-Can never-ending line of dancers alongside other creative audiovisual experiments made with local participants at Worcester Community Trust Community Hubs.
• New Worlds by Halina Rice - In St Swithun’s Church experience waves of colour and abstract visuals in a succession of contrasting moods - all moving in time to carefully crafted soundscapes and beat-driven tracks. Please note strobe lights are used in this installation.
• The Nectary by Alison Smith and Dr Chris Hassall - On Broad Street immerse yourself in nature and hear ‘the hum of the earth’ when you visit six huge glowing flowers filled with sounds mimicking a pollinating insect.
• Glowing and Growing with Baker and Bliss - In Crowngate (near the escalators) walk through this magical glow-in-the-dark installation and immerse yourself in the quirky textile sculptures created by the artists and community participants. While you’re there, you are invited to add something to the glowing and growing installation.
• Network by Gemma Wood - Outside The Hive enter a spellbinding exploration of inside the mind. Explore giant neurons, listen to the internal chatter and watch messages impulse and travel through the networks in a beautiful array of rainbow colours.
• You Can-Can capture booth by Ludic Rooms - Step inside Arch 27 to capture and upload your best (or worst) 10 seconds of dancing. Then try and spot yourself in The People’s Popup Pavilion on the High Street.
• OOO! Pretty! by The Artery Studios and Yasmin Agilah - Inside Arch 28 interact with this tactile, immersive grotto of colour. OOO! Pretty! is a sensory palace of sparkly distractions which explores neurodiversity with softness and humour.

On both nights the following performances will take place:

• Aura by Southpaw Dance Company and Dancefest - On Cornmarket experience the captivating story of invisible energies, the heart’s magnetic field and unseen connections in a performance with projections by local, community and professional dancers. Performance times: 7 – 7.15pm & 8 – 8.15pm. After each performance, for 20 minutes you can interact with the floor projection.
• Glitter Belles in their exquisite costumes with inbuilt light balls and mirror ball headdresses will be in Angel Place at 6 – 6.30pm, 7 – 7.30pm & 8 – 8.30pm. 
• Lightwalkers in their costumes of ever-changing hues of light will be on the High Street at 6.30 - 7pm, 7.30 - 8pm & 8.30 - 9pm. 

The Food Zone in Cornmarket will be open from 5 – 9pm. Food will be provided by Neighbourhood Flame Squad, Roly Poly Eats, Cheeky Maharaja, Big Dogz Tacos, Bad Boy Wings, No Frickin Chicken, The Van Waffle Co, YUM Sweet Treats and The  Sugar Loaf. 

Download the Light Night map and programme 

Programmes are also available from the Tourist Information Centre and The Hive and volunteers will be handing them out on both nights.

Will it be busy? 

Each Light Night Worcester has proved to be extremely popular. The programme is the same for both nights and spread across the city centre, so no one needs to miss out. There will be volunteers, maps and signs to let you know where everything is, and you can follow @SevernArts on social media for updates during the event.  

As with any city centre event, allow a little more time for travelling to or through the city centre as your journey may take a little longer. For details about roads closed to vehicles during this event visit: https://one.network/

Road closures will show up on one network two weeks in advance of the event.  

Do I need a ticket? 

Light Night Worcester is completely FREE, and you don’t need a ticket. There may be times that you need to wait but there is plenty to see, so you can always visit another part of the programme and come back at a later time if it is particularly busy at any point. 

What about parking? 

Cornmarket car park will be closed for Light Night installations and the food vendors. There are a number of city centre car parks within a reasonable walking distance of everything in the programme. The Worcester City Council website provides an interactive map of parking sites that may be useful: https://www.worcester.gov.uk/parking/parking-sites  

Due to road closures, blue badge parking will be suspended in Cornmarket, Charles Street and New Street. There will be notices on all on-street parking that will be affected during the event.  

Is the Light Night programme accessible?

All Light Night sites are wheelchair accessible, though please note the exit of St Swithun’s Church has a step so you will need to exit via the entrance. 

There will be a viewing area for the Dancefest performances with seating available.  

All the installations will have artists boards that have a QR code to access an audio version of the information. 

Strobe lighting will be used as part of the installations in St Helen’s Church and St Swithun’s Church and so are not suitable for those with light sensitivities.  

Where can I go if I need a quiet space?

The Hive will be open until 10pm on both nights for anyone needing a quiet space and to have time away from the event.

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