Light Festivals Around the World 2026–2027: Dates and Open Calls for Lyon, Vivid Sydney and Amsterdam

Major light festivals around the world have announced their dates for winter 2026 through 2027. The Amsterdam Light Festival in the Netherlands opens on November 26, and Lyon’s Fête des Lumières on Saturday, December 5. In 2027, Vivid Sydney is scheduled to run from Friday, May 28, and Prague’s Signal Festival in October. Based on official announcements, this article sorts out dates and scale, how projection mapping features, how open calls for works operate and official attendance figures.

Why light festivals became urban policy

Of the five festivals covered here, three are organized or commissioned by local governments or government agencies. Lyon’s festival has been run by a City of Lyon team since 1999, funded by the city’s budget and support from local businesses and others, with free admission (per the official website’s FAQ). Vivid Sydney is owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, the New South Wales government’s tourism and major events agency, and the UK’s Lumiere has been held on commission from Durham County Council.

Their origins vary. Lyon’s is said to date to 1852, when residents placed candles on their windowsills to welcome a new golden statue of the Virgin Mary on Fourvière Hill. In 1989, the city launched its “Plan Lumière” to stage buildings with lighting, initially illuminating 250 sites. Under its 2005 plan, it says it cut energy consumption by 33% while adding nearly 1,000 lights each year.

Prague’s Signal Festival was founded in 2013. According to its official website, the idea grew out of the success of a video mapping marking the 600th anniversary of the Old Town astronomical clock in 2010. Amsterdam’s festival grew out of the Christmas Canal Parade, which began in 2009; its first edition in 2012–2013 offered a seven-week light art route by boat along the canals.

There are also links between cities. In 2002, the City of Lyon launched LUCI, a network of cities focused on lighting, which now includes 70 cities and 40 associate members. During the festival, on December 7 and 8, 2026, LUCI and the city will hold the Lyon Creative Lighting Forum, an international conference for lighting professionals. From its fourth edition in 2015–2016, Amsterdam began international collaborations showing works from its own “collection” at events in other cities.

The difficulty of keeping going has also become apparent. For Lumiere in Durham, UK, the producing organization has said the November 2025 edition was the last Lumiere it would produce there. Below, we look at dates as well as how works are selected and how attendance figures are published.

Major light festivals, winter 2026–2027: dates, venues and scale

Festivals whose dates could be confirmed on their official websites are introduced in order of opening. The number of works and attendance are as announced by each organizer. Berlin’s Festival of Lights, GLOW in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, Seoul’s Seoul Light DDP and Singapore’s Light to Night are each introduced in separate articles.

Amsterdam Light Festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

The 15th edition runs from November 26, 2026 to January 17, 2027. The official website describes it as an edition celebrating 15 years of light art in Amsterdam and announces a new route. The works were gathered by asking local and international artists what they wanted to show residents and visitors.

The official website sells experience tickets for boat cruises along the canals and for walking routes, with sales starting October 1, 2026. Details of the number of works and the route are to be announced later (as of October 21). In the past, the seventh edition in 2018–2019 featured 29 works in the city center, and the 12th in 2023–2024 lined up 24 works along the Herengracht.

Dates: November 26, 2026 – January 17, 2027
Venue: Amsterdam (new route; details to be announced)
Admission: Ticketed cruise and walking experiences
Organizer: Amsterdam Light Festival (foundation)
Official website: https://amsterdamlightfestival.com/en/edition-15

Lyon’s Fête des Lumières (France)

In 2026, it runs for four nights, from Saturday, December 5 to Tuesday, December 8. The official website announces more than 25 works. Hours are generally 19:00–23:00 on the 5th, 7th and 8th and 18:00–22:00 on Sunday the 6th, with exceptions for some works. The program will be published in digital form in early November.

In 2025 (December 5–8), 23 works were shown at 20 sites around the city. According to the official website’s review, video mapping was staged at Saint-Jean Cathedral, Place des Terreaux and Saint-Paul station, and the festival’s first drone show was held. Venues also included the Basilica of Fourvière, the Parc de la Tête d’Or and the foyer of the Opera House.

Dates: Saturday, December 5 – Tuesday, December 8, 2026
Hours: 19:00–23:00 (18:00–22:00 on Sunday, December 6; varies by work)
Venue: Various sites around Lyon
Admission: Free
Organizer: City of Lyon
Official website: https://www.fetedeslumieres.lyon.fr/fr

Vivid Sydney (Sydney, Australia)

In 2027, it runs over 23 nights, from Friday, May 28 to Saturday, June 19. It is built on four pillars—Light, Music, Minds and Food—and, according to the official website, has been held 16 times so far. The light program’s Vivid Light Walk is a free route lined with light projections and works along the harbor foreshore.

The 2026 edition was held from May 22 to June 13. The official website highlighted “Lighting of the Sails: Opera Mundi,” which illuminated the Sydney Opera House. According to a June 17 announcement by Destination NSW, 2026 featured 217 events and more than 2,200 sessions at 89 locations. Total attendance was not given in the organizer’s announcements we checked.

Dates: Friday, May 28 – Saturday, June 19, 2027
Venue: Sydney (harbor foreshore and other locations)
Admission: Vivid Light Walk is free
Organizer: Destination NSW (New South Wales Government)
Official website: https://www.vividsydney.com/

[Ended] Signal Festival (Prague, Czech Republic)

The 14th edition was held from Thursday, October 15 to Sunday, October 18, 2026. According to the press materials, the theme was “Sny a vize” (Dreams and Visions), with 21 works. Eight of them were placed in the paid area “Signal INSIDE,” with one-day, four-day and VIP tickets. In addition to the city center, a route was to be set up in the Dejvice district for the first time.

There were two video mapping works. For the opening at 19:00 on the first day, a projection onto the facade of the Archbishop’s Seminary (Arcibiskupský seminář) was planned: “Missing Interval” by Germany’s Felix Frank.

Two walls of the Old Town Hall were to show “Život v pravdě” (Living in Truth) by Ukraine’s Svitlana Reinish, a work inspired by Václav Havel’s essay “Moc bezmocných” (The Power of the Powerless). The organizers prepared two works and a panel discussion as part of celebrations marking the 90th anniversary of Havel’s birth (September 30 announcement).

The 13th edition in 2025 (October 16–19) featured 20 works along routes in the city center and Vinohrady. For 2027, the official website shows dates of October 14–17 (as of October 21).

Dates: Held Thursday, October 15 – Sunday, October 18, 2026. 2027: October 14–17 (as shown on the official website)
Venue: Prague (routes in the city center, Dejvice and elsewhere)
Admission: One-day, four-day and VIP tickets for the paid area “Signal INSIDE”
Organizer: Signal Creative (per the 2025 press materials)
Official website: https://www.signalfestival.com/

Lumiere (Durham, UK)

A UK light art biennial launched in 2009, produced and curated by Artichoke and commissioned by Durham County Council. The edition held from Thursday, November 13 to Saturday, November 15, 2025, was the ninth in 16 years and drew more than 120,000 people (per the organizer).

According to Lumiere’s official website, the 2025 edition was the last Lumiere that Artichoke, which created Lumiere and owns its trademark, would produce in Durham. Andrew Husband, leader of Durham County Council, has indicated that the council will review its events program and how light art is presented in future. A 2027 edition had not been announced as of October 21.

Most recent edition: Thursday, November 13 – Saturday, November 15, 2025
Venue: Durham (UK)
Production: Artichoke (commissioned by Durham County Council)
2027 edition: Not announced
Official website: https://www.lumiere-festival.com/

How works are chosen: open calls and commissions

How light works are gathered differs by festival. Lyon holds an open call for works every year, and the official website’s FAQ says artists must respond to this call to present a work. The 2026 call was open to individual artists and collectives, students, emerging to established artists, associations, institutions and companies, from Lyon or elsewhere.

It sought contemplative (contemplatifs), participatory and immersive works on the theme of light, mainly for outdoor public spaces. The deadline was Friday, April 24, 2026. Selected works can be funded through city grants (associations only) and corporate sponsorship. The FAQ says the selection criteria include environmental impact.

Separately, three venues—the banks of the Saône, Place des Terreaux and Saint-Jean Cathedral—were advertised as three public procurement contracts on the city’s procurement site, with submissions closing on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Two of the venues where video mapping was staged in 2025 are among them.

Vivid Sydney accepts proposals through a call it terms an “Expression of Interest (EOI),” open to artists, designers, creative industry professionals, architects, engineers and others. For the 2027 light program, submissions opened on Thursday, June 18, 2026 and closed at 17:00 (Sydney time) on Monday, August 10. The schedule was to notify shortlisting results on Friday, August 28, hold interviews in September and notify successful applicants on Friday, October 9.

Selected artists sign contracts by Friday, October 30 and begin meetings with the operations team from Tuesday, November 3. Images and descriptions of the works are finalized by Tuesday, December 15. The official website also accepts registrations to receive information about the 2028 call.

The Amsterdam Light Festival solicits works from around the world a year ahead. The call for the 16th edition (November 25, 2027 – January 16, 2028) seeks ideas for new light works, with a deadline of 23:59 (Central European Time) on December 7, 2026. Selected creators receive technical and financial support from the festival.

Amsterdam has also set up “Open Call X Amarte” for Netherlands-based creators working with light art for the first time. Signal Festival, too, has offered opportunities to realize works through the “Signal Open Call” since 2019 (per its official website). Selection details are set out in Lyon’s call documents and applicant guide, and in Amsterdam’s briefing materials for artists.

Reading attendance through organizers’ announcements

Attendance figures are those published by each organizer itself. Many do not state how they were calculated, making them difficult to use for comparing the scale of festivals. The figures confirmed on official websites and in press materials are as follows.

• Lyon: The official website’s FAQ says about 2 million people visit each edition, and that the 2025 edition drew more than 2 million (no calculation method given).

• Signal Festival: According to the official website, there were more than 500,000 visits in total in 2025.

• Amsterdam Light Festival: According to the history on the official website, nearly 1 million people visited the 2016–2017 edition. Figures for the most recent edition are not posted.

• Lumiere: More than 120,000 in 2025. Cumulative attendance since 2009 exceeds 1.3 million, and the event is said to have brought more than £43 million to the regional economy (per the organizer).

• Vivid Sydney: In 2026, 217 events were held at 89 locations. Total attendance is not given in the press materials we checked.

The City of Lyon selects the mobile food vendors operating at festival venues through public procurement. Its call for 2026 described the festival as an event visited by nearly 2 million people over four nights.

Connections with light events in Japan

Few of the official announcements we checked mention connections with Japan. Signal Festival’s 2026 press materials refer to the screening history of Felix Frank, responsible for the Archbishop’s Seminary mapping, whose works have been shown at mapping festivals in various countries, including Tokyo Lights and Constellations de Metz in France.

There are also links between competitions. The Winners League of iMapp Bucharest, organized by the City of Bucharest, Romania, features winners from partner festivals in seven countries, including Japan. In 2026, it was held on September 19 and 20 on the roughly 23,000 m² facade of the Palace of the Parliament (per the official website). How competitions in Japan and abroad work is laid out in our article on projection mapping contests and awards.

Light events in Japan this winter are introduced in our roundup of winter illuminations and light festivals across Japan and our roundup of projection mapping nationwide.

Editor’s perspective

Setting the five festivals side by side reveals differences in how cities procure light works. Lyon uses both open calls and public procurement; Amsterdam solicits works from around the world for editions more than a year away; in Sydney, the state tourism agency runs a selection process, including interviews, over about six months. All are mechanisms for sustaining an event while renewing its works every year.

Durham’s Lumiere, on the other hand, published cumulative attendance and economic impact figures, yet its producer has ended its work there. How to select works and build structures for continuity offers lessons for light events in Japan too. Developments in Japan are laid out in our feature on the background to the wave of nighttime light displays at cultural properties.

Frequently asked questions

Which festivals are free?

Lyon’s Fête des Lumières is listed as free on its official website. Vivid Sydney’s Vivid Light Walk is also a free route. Signal Festival said that in 2026, 8 of its 21 works would be in a paid area. The Amsterdam Light Festival sells cruise and walking experiences by ticket.

Can artists from abroad submit works?

Lyon’s 2026 call was also open to artists and organizations from outside Lyon. The Amsterdam Light Festival’s call for its 16th edition is open to creators worldwide, with a deadline of December 7, 2026. Vivid Sydney’s 2027 call has already closed.

Will the UK’s Lumiere be held in 2027?

There had been no announcement as of October 21. The producer, Artichoke, has said the 2025 edition was the last Lumiere it would produce in Durham.

*Information as of October 21, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Fourvière Hill and Saint-Jean Cathedral during Lyon’s Fête des Lumières, December 2019 (photo: Dmitry Djouce, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on official announcements and public materials from each agency and organizer (as of October 21, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team