Liverpool City Council has made several changes this year to help with the flow of visitors
Pictures of 2024 River of Light
Liverpool City Council has revealed how it plans to manage this year’s expected huge crowds at the River of Light. This will be the eighth year the popular event will transform the city’s waterfront, returning with a new theme and ten new installations for 2025.
Every year the city’s waterfront and key areas around the centre come to life with an array of dazzling light installations. Last year’s theme was ‘Light is Play’, with the best light artists in the world using the theme as inspiration, resulting in 12 installations for 2024.
This time around, the event, which will run over 10 nights, from Friday, October 24 to Sunday, November 2, will be focused on the theme of ‘Optics – Science and Light’. This year, ten large-scale artworks will be showcased, with each of the installations inspired by an area of science, technology or nature.
Each of the artworks aims to capture the imagination of visitors in new ways as they explore the 3km trail along the waterfront, including the Royal Albert Dock, as well as around the Pier Head, Exchange Flags and Liverpool ONE.
Embrace by Beamhacker will be at River of Light 2025(Image: Beamhacker)
One highlight of this year’s programme is the Face Value installation by scientist Emma Brass, artist Venya Krutikov and the Invisible Wind Factory. The new commission uses AI and robotics to create an interactive light art game experience that showcases the capabilities of these technologies in a playful way.
The council said a detailed plan is in place to manage the numbers of people expected at the event, but visitors are advised it is set to be extremely popular, particularly at the weekends, and to bear this in mind when planning their visit.
The team also said there was queuing at the installations last year as they were interactive, so it took more time than usual for people to pass through – this is not the case this year. Some of the installation locations have also changed this year.
River of Light Festival fireworks in 2019(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
River of Light will be open until 10pm on Saturday 1 November, to give families attending other events in the city including the Rugby League Ashes series game at the Hill Dickinson stadium and Gladiators Live at ACC Liverpool, the chance to see the installations.
Liverpool City Council’s Harry Doyle, said: “River of Light is one of the stand-out moments every year in the city and is an event that has a real, positive impact on the local economy.
“It has become a real, staple festival in people’s diaries and its reputation for high-quality, free art that is accessible and enjoyable for all ages has really spread, and last year we found that it attracted more visitors than ever from outside the City Region.
River of Light map for 2025(Image: Visit Liverpool)
“For us to handover the streets of Liverpool to artists – and this year scientists as well – is such a joyful experience and I can’t wait to see locals and visitors enjoying this extraordinary art show again.
“As part of our new-look markets offer, we are also hosting stalls at Cunard Building and giving people the chance to book a behind-the-scenes tour of the building.
“We have planned the locations of the installations carefully with a view to ensuring people can plan their route and take their time. Naturally we expect it to be most popular on a Friday and Saturday, so people should bear that in mind when deciding when to visit. However, people should be reassured that we do have robust plans in place to deal with visitor numbers.”
Getting to River of Light
River of Light is a popular event and we encourage the use of public transport to ensure a smooth journey and to be more sustainable.
We are particularly advising people to plan their journeys carefully on Saturday 1 November due to the other events taking place around the city.
The nearest Merseyrail stations to River of Light are Moorfields (Wirral and Northern Line) and James Street (Wirral Line). For National Rail, Liverpool Lime St Station is approximately a 15 minute walk to Liverpool Waterfront, or visitors can utilise the Merseyrail underground service to Travel to James Street or Moorfields by rail.
Plan your journey in advance and refer to the Merseytravel website for the most up to date travel information.
Road closures
There will be no access to the Pier Head. There will no access via Brunswick St (exit only). Access for disabled parking, businesses, residents and workers is via St Nicholas Place from 6pm – 9pm.
There will be a road closure in place at the entrance to The Royal Albert Dock (Salthouse Quay) from 6pm – 9pm.