the Festival of Lights takes place in Lyon (South-East) until Saturday 10 December. The event has a religious basis: originally, the inhabitants lit candles on their balconies or windows in homage to the Virgin Mary. Now placed under the sign of poetry, fantasy – but also in 2022 of energy sobriety – it offers two million visitors to admire luminous works and giant images projected on the most beautiful buildings of the city.
“ The Festival of Lights is part of the city’s DNA, for us it’s really important to maintain it “, supported Grégory Doucet, the ecologist mayor of Lyon, who also advocates energy savings for his city this winter. And above all, says the aedile, it’s a popular, unifying moment », which evokes an even more inclusive and accessible 2022 edition.
Nocturnal wanderings
In the city center, where a pedestrian area encourages nocturnal wanderings, or in the Tête d’Or park, luminous works are installed everywhere, while buildings are transformed into giant screens.
It’s a tradition that goes back 170 years, in 1852, at the time, each inhabitant of Lyon was invited to place a candle in his window…
Report: Lyon celebrates the lights
Thus, on the facade of the Saint-Jean cathedral, Time, a little artistic gem designed using generative algorithms, invites you to reflect on the passage of time. On the Place des Terreaux, you can wiggle your hips to the sound of Britney Spears or Diam’s interpreted by portraits from the Museum of Fine Arts. Elsewhere, an installation warns of climate change.
Two million visitors
Two million visitors, 70% from the Lyon metropolitan area according to the town hall, are expected until Sunday evening, curious to discover the 30 works presented, including 17 new collaborations, with artists from France, Spain, Italy and the Congo.
” The Festival of Lights has a relatively limited consumption: the electricity bill is 3,500 euros “, or only 0.1% of the annual electricity bill for lighting, ” because the works are essentially based on LED technology », « very energy efficient “says Grégory Doucet again. In total, the Festival’s budget amounts to nearly 3 million euros.
(With AFP)