Leeds City Centre was transformed into a glowing gallery of light, sound and imagination as Light Night Leeds 2025 drew thousands of visitors to experience one of the city’s biggest cultural events of the year.
This year’s theme, Landmarks, saw historic buildings and modern architecture reimagined through light-based artworks from across the world, each piece celebrating the city’s character and inviting audiences to reflect on places that shape their memories.
Crowds gathered in City Square to watch One Second Lovestory, a projection by German artist Dirk Rauscher on the façade of the Queens Hotel. Marking 200 years of the modern railway, the piece captured a fleeting moment between two travellers meeting eyes in a busy station.
At Leeds Civic Hall, Portuguese collective Ocubo collaborated with the British Library to present Portals: The Machine of Worlds, an expansive projection using imagery from classic science and discovery texts. Elsewhere, the childhood favourite Spirograph returned as a living light sculpture by Lesley Halliwell and William Card, while at Wellington Place, A Matter of the Heart turned local residents’ heartbeats into synchronised lightboxes.
Along Briggate, ten-foot Living Lamp Posts mingled with onlookers, the Spark Drummers filled Trinity Leeds with rhythm, and at Aire Park, French artists LumInartiste suspended a 32-metre sculpture, Bird Passing By, capturing the full flight of a bird in motion.
Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said “Light Night Leeds has once again captivated thousands of visitors of all ages, creating an unforgettable cultural occasion. Year after year this wonderful event brings people together, showcases the best of our city and encapsulates the spirit of community, creativity and collaboration which is so integral to Leeds.”
Organised by Leeds City Council and funded by Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grant, Light Night Leeds 2025 continues tonight from 6 pm to 10 pm.
