Light Night

Last updated

Performers at the 2016 Leeds festival 7.10.16 Light Night Leeds 057 (30066255352).jpg
Performers at the 2016 Leeds festival

Light Night is an annual cultural event which first happened in the city of Leeds in October 2005, as part of the launch of the region-wide Illuminate Cultural Festival.

Based on the European model of Nuit Blanche, founded in Paris in 2002, the idea of Light Night is to open cultural and other venues across the city late into the night and play host to unusual cultural events. In October 2005, performances included a string quartet playing at the top of the Town Hall clocktower, a tour round a pitch black church with only a torch and a sinister audio-guide that could not be trusted, and a treasure hunt from the Institute for Crazy Dancing. The hunt involved 200 audience members being led across the city and becoming a show in their own right, collecting white boiler suits and umbrellas en route, and dancing up and down Briggate, the main shopping street, with three shire horses, an ice cream van and the bagpipes of Leeds Pipe Band.

A clock projected onto Leeds Civic Hall on as part of Light Night 2013 Momentous at Light Night Leeds 2013 (Taken by Flickr user 5th October 2013).jpg
A clock projected onto Leeds Civic Hall on as part of Light Night 2013

Nuit Blanche is a growing global trend which since 2005 Leeds has been leading in the United Kingdom. Leeds was joined by Bradford, Sheffield, York and Hull for Light Night 2006. Several other major cities across the country such as Birmingham hosted Light Night events in 2008. In 2009 it included Belfast, Liverpool and Nottingham.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party</span> Gathering of invited guests

A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature food and beverages, and often conversation, music, dancing, or other forms of entertainment.

Darren O'Donnell is a Canadian novelist, essayist, performance artist, playwright, director, actor and urban planner.

The City of Toronto Economic Development and Culture Division is a division of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division, a part of the City of Toronto. The division was created in April 2005. The division is responsible for creating economic opportunities, promoting cultural diversity, and working to create cultural and economic resources within the city. The general manager is currently Mike Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Night of Museums</span> Cultural event where museums open late

The Long Night of Museums, or the Night of Museums, and, since 2005, the European Night of Museums, is a cultural event in which museums and cultural institutions remain open late into the night to introduce themselves to new potential patrons. Visitors are given a common entrance pass which grants them access to all exhibits as well as complimentary public transportation within the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Halifax, Nova Scotia</span> Overview of the culture of Halifax (Canada)

Hosting the region's largest urban population, Halifax, Nova Scotia is an important cultural centre in Atlantic Canada. Halifax is home to a vibrant arts and culture community that enjoys considerable support and participation from the general population. As the largest community and the administrative centre of the Atlantic region since its founding in 1749, Halifax has long-standing tradition of being a cultural generator. While provincial arts and culture policies have tended to distribute investment and support of the arts throughout the province, sometimes to the detriment of more populous Halifax, cultural production in the region is increasingly being recognized for its economic benefits, as well as its purely cultural aspects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dangerous World Tour</span> 1992–93 concert tour by Michael Jackson

The Dangerous World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson and was staged to promote his eighth studio album Dangerous. The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various charities including Jackson's own "Heal the World Foundation". It began in Munich, Germany, on June 27, 1992, and concluded in Mexico City, Mexico, on November 11, 1993, playing 69 concerts in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Jackson performed in stadiums across the world with all being sold out in countries in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. At the tour's end, it grossed over $100 million and was attended by 3,500,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millennium Square, Leeds</span> Square in Leeds, England

Millennium Square is a city square in the Civic Quarter of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was Leeds's flagship project to mark the year 2000, and was jointly funded by Leeds City Council and the Millennium Commission. Total cost of production was £12 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuit Blanche</span> Annual night-time art festival in various cities

Nuit Blanche is an annual all-night or night-time arts festival of a city. A Nuit Blanche typically has museums, private and public art galleries, and other cultural institutions open and free of charge, with the centre of the city itself being turned into a de facto art gallery, providing space for art installations, performances, themed social gatherings, and other activities.

Montreal was referred to as "Canada's Cultural Capital" by Monocle Magazine. The city is Canada's centre for French-language television productions, radio, theatre, film, multimedia, and print publishing. The Quartier Latin is a neighbourhood crowded with cafés animated by this literary and musical activity. Montreal's many cultural communities have given it a distinct local culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of San Antonio</span>

The culture of San Antonio reflects the history and culture of one of the state's oldest and largest cities straddling the regional and cultural divide between South and Central Texas. Historically, San Antonio culture comes from a blend of Central Texas and South Texas (Southwestern) culture. Founded as a Spanish outpost and the first civil settlement in Texas, San Antonio is heavily influenced by Mexican American culture due to Texas formerly being part of Mexico and, previously, the Spanish Empire. The city also has significant German, Anglo, and African American cultural influences. San Antonio offers a host of cultural institutions, events, restaurants and nightlife in South Texas for both residents and visitors alike.

The Edgy Women Festival was an annual festival of "short, highly physical works by women, often characterized by a transdisciplinary approach and politicized content." which ran for 23 years from 1994 to 2016. Presented by Studio 303, a dance and interdisciplinary-arts centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Edgy Women focuses on feminist perspectives with workshops and forums, performance events, and socializing. Studio 303's artistic and general manager Miriam Ginestier programmed Edgy Women from 1995 to 2014.

The culture of Paris concerns the arts, music, museums, festivals and other entertainment in Paris, the capital city of France. The city is today one of the world's leading business and cultural centers; entertainment, music, media, fashion, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museums at Night</span> UK cultural programme

Museums at Night was a twice-yearly festival of late openings, sleepovers and special events taking place in museums, galleries, libraries, archive and heritage sites in the United Kingdom. It was affiliated with the European Night of Museums programme, and took place on weekends in late May and late October. It ceased operations in January 2020, through lack of funding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Night festivals</span> All-night arts festivals held in many cities worldwide in the summer

The White Nights are all-night arts festivals held in many cities in the summer. The original festival is the White Nights Festival held in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The white nights is the name given in areas of high latitude to the weeks around the summer solstice in June during which sunsets are late, sunrises are early and darkness is never complete. In Saint Petersburg, the Sun does not set until after 10 p.m., and the twilight lasts almost all night.

The Long Night of Museums was first held in Berlin in 1997. Since then a similar format has been adopted all over the continent under different names. Today more than 120 cities in Europe organize their local "Night", an event which has turned into popular cultural events. "The Night of Museums" in Bulgaria was held for the first time on 30 September 2005 in the city of Plovdiv. It is now called Share the Night and is three days of art performances in galleries, cafes, and public spaces all over the town.

Leeds is known for its culture in the fields of art, architecture, music, sport, film and television. As the largest city in Yorkshire, Leeds is a centre of Yorkshire's contemporary culture and is the base for Yorkshire's television and regional newspapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrei Severny (filmmaker)</span>

Andrei Severny is a contemporary filmmaker, screenwriter, photographer and visual artist. Severny's films include Buried Seeds, Inside Risk: Shadows of Medellin, Gravitation: Variation in Time and Space, Condition, Teaching to See, Disparaît, v and Tom on Mars.

Waves is the annual cultural festival of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. It is a three-day-long festival held in the late October – early November period. It is a cultural festival that is held annually to celebrate music, dance and art. It is an inter college festival with students coming in to participate in events and competitions from all over the country.

Virada Cultural Paulistana is the biggest 24-hour festival in the world, that began in 2005 and occurs annually in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Events at the Virada Cultural include various live music concerts, films, plays, art exhibits, and other cultural activities and performances. In 2019, has a public expectation of 5 million people and will be the biggest edition of the festival ever held. The event will contain more than 250 event venues, and will feature more than 1200 confirmed attractions.

LGBT culture in Leeds, England, involves an active community of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender/transsexual. A BBC News Online article published in 2012 stated that, while Leeds City Council has not published statistics relating to the number of LGBT residents, the figure can be estimated at 10% of the overall population, which currently suggests a total of at least 77,000. The tenth year of the Leeds Pride march and celebration, held in 2016, was attended by over 40,000 people.