Light night

Light Night is a 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 / unexpected cultural events. In October 2005, these 'unusual cultural events' 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 Treasure 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.

Despite the end of the Illuminate Festival, Light Night continues and grows in Leeds, with over 30 venues set to open for the 2007 event on October 12.

Nuit Blanche is a growing global trend which Leeds is currently leading in the UK, but there is talk of several other major cities across the country hosting Light Night events in 2008.

ee also

*Nuit Blanche
*Long Night of Museums

External links

* [http://www.lightnight.co.uk Light Night Leeds Website]
* [http://www.digyorkshire.com/lightnight Illuminate Light Night website]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2006/09/28/light_night_2006_feature.shtml BBC Feature]
* [http://www.paris.fr/portail/Culture/Portal.lut?page_id=6806 Nuit Blanche Paris]
* [http://nuitblanche.livewithculture.ca/ Nuit Blanche Toronto]
* [http://www.nottebiancacomo.it/home/ Notte Bianca Como]

Further reading

* White Nights - Fyodor Dostoevsky
* Invisible Cities - Italo Calvino