Birmingham Light Festival will return to transform city spaces into a dazzling open-air gallery from February 12-15, with a programme of spectacular light installations and special events set to brighten the dark winter nights.
This is the second year of the festival which is set to showcase brand new temporary illuminated artworks which will take over the streets, squares and public spaces.
It’s your chance to fall in love with Birmingham over Valentine’s Day weekend.
Here are the highlights
Bullring presents FORGED, produced by Birmingham Hippodrome, a high-energy live experience will transform Bullring with fire performances.
Set to a live soundtrack of spoken word and original music from one the city’s most exciting metal bands, Insurgent, FORGED is inspired by the sparks, steel and relentless rhythm that shaped Birmingham.
Between performances, the spotlight turns to the public as visitors are invited to quite literally play with fire and step up to a spectacular fire-breathing organ, a bold, interactive installation which triggers bursts of flame against the night sky.
Having ignited the night, a wander down to 1000 Trades Square will take visitors to the home of Reunion, by Kumquat Lab, where sweeping luminous arches outside New Street Station will create a magical setting for a city, connected. This colourful artwork is brought to you with thanks to Network Rail and Birmingham City University.
My Heart Belongs in Birmingham, by NeonCow, brings illuminated neon hearts to Lower Temple Street – a love note to the city, perfect for selfies and sharing the love as visitors carry on exploring. Back by popular demand and building on the theme of love, Our Beating Heart, by Studio Vertigo, will be taking up residence at Mailbox. This glittering artwork will transform the Canalside with shimmering light whilst inviting visitors to immerse themselves in disco music beside the rotating, heart-shaped mirror ball, one of nightlife’s most universal icons.
High over Victoria Square, The Look of Love: All Eyes on Town Hall by Designs in Air, will see giant eyes keeping watch over Colmore Business District from Birmingham Town Hall as some silliness unfolds below. Voted the favourite installation from the inaugural Birmingham Light Festival, the iconic silent disco is back. This year taking the form of a classic party game, The Silly Statues x Silent Disco by festival producers, Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces (OPUS), will transform Victoria Square into a giant game of musical statues, with disco host Madame Freeze rewarding the silliest frozen poses.
Over in the Jewellery Quarter, Firefly Field by Studio Toer will bring a delicate glow to the green space of St. Paul’s Churchyard. Delicate points of light will drift and flicker, creating a mesmerising scene inspired by the subtle movements of fireflies.
Along the canal path, in Oozells Square at Brindleyplace, The Heartbeat of Brindleyplace, by idontloveyouanymore, will see a collection of softly glowing boxes of light arrive, each one connected to, and powered by, live Brummie hearts. Part of a nationwide project, Matters of the Heart, the installation will share the stories of real people from Birmingham, connecting them to their light boxes by monitors which will pulse along with each heartbeat in real-time, wherever they are.
As the festival journey winds east into Edgbaston, a powerful installation invites festival-goers into the stunning setting of Birmingham Botanical Gardens as Tipping Point, by international artist Luke Jerram, will create a thought-provoking simulated forest fire. In collaboration with award winning composers Dan Jones and Simon Birch, the outdoor artwork includes an immersive soundtrack, evocative audio effects and interviews with people about their experience of forest fires, bringing the reality of deforestation to life. Birmingham Botanical Gardens will also be hosting Climate Conversations, creating a space to reflect and initiate discussions around climate change. Guarantee your access to this poignant experience by booking a free ticket via the Light Festival website. This provocative artwork is brought to you with thanks to artwork sponsor, Middlemarch.
Four legacy installations
Alongside the temporary artworks, completing the Birmingham Light Festival journey will be 4 legacy installations, three of which remained in situ after last year’s festival. A new installation, Where the Trees Begin, by Birmingham-based mural artist Richard O’Gorman, will see Edgbaston Village creatively illuminated with an artwork inspired by the ancient forests that once shaped Birmingham’s landscape. Richard’s piece was chosen by a panel after local creators and artists were asked to submit proposals for a new legacy piece and will remain in place after the festival ends.
It joins the existing legacy pieces Alright Bab! (Colmore Square), Ideas Happen Here (Newhall Square) and Roof of Stars (Thorp Street). The continuation of the Legacy Programme has been made possible thanks to the support of Birmingham City Council, using funds from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Birmingham Light Festival special events
As Birmingham lights up, businesses across the city are uniting to host a series of special events and festival exclusives, giving visitors the chance to fully immerse themselves in the celebrations.
Over 50 events will be taking place across the weekend, including everything from Run the Lights, a group run starting from The Goodsyard taking in all the installations, and Paws of Light, a dog walk that makes sure furry friends don’t miss out on the action.
Edgbaston Village Night Market will give visitors the chance to explore Greenfield Crescent and discover new independent makers, while the CBSO and Canal and River Trust will be bringing back their Bringing the Light Lantern Procession after last year’s success.
Candlelit evenings at restaurants across the city will level up the romance as reservations open for wine tasting at Loki Wine, a five-course special menu at The High Field, whisky tasting with Grain & Glass and an exclusive menu inspired by embers at Cow & Sow.
Bars across the city including Hotel du Vin, Chapter, The Alchemist, Everyman Cinema, Flight Club and Bazar at Harvey Nichols will also be serving up specially curated, light themed cocktails over the festival weekend, creating perfect pit-stops while taking in the installations.
A full list of special events and offers is available on the Birmingham Light Festival website. For more information, visit: https://www.birminghamlightfestival.co.uk/
‘Truly remarkable artworks lined up’
Led by City Curator, Alex Nicholson-Evans and festival producers OPUS, founding partners Colmore BID, Central BID, Southside District, Westside BID and The Jewellery Quarter BID have come together with Bullring, Edgbaston Village, Mailbox, Network Rail, Birmingham City University and Brindleyplace to brighten up February’s dark nights with Birmingham Light Festival for the second time.
Alex Nicholson-Evans, said: “We are so excited to be able to reveal the full programme for Birmingham Light Festival 2026. We have some truly remarkable artworks lined up and are delighted to be able to showcase thought-provoking, internationally renowned works alongside original creations from incredibly talented local artists.
“Once again our fantastic founding partners, forward thinking festival supporters and a whole host of incredible organisations from across the city have come together to make sure that Birmingham has something really wonderful to look forward to in this particularly dark and cold winter. The countdown is officially on!”
For more information, visit: https://www.birminghamlightfestival.co.uk/
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