{"id":479363,"date":"2025-10-07T01:55:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T01:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/479363\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T01:55:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T01:55:20","slug":"greater-manchester-town-to-host-light-festival-with-last-chance-to-see-northern-lights-display","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/479363\/","title":{"rendered":"Greater Manchester town to host light festival with last chance to see Northern Lights display"},"content":{"rendered":"

The free event returns to the town this November with ‘world-class’ lights displays, immersive installations and street performances<\/p>\n

17:07, 06 Oct 2025Updated 17:07, 06 Oct 2025<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Put Big Light On Festival returns to Bolton this November(Image: ABNM Photography)<\/p>\n

The darker nights might be fast approaching but the autumnal evenings also signal the return of magical light shows across Greater Manchester.<\/p>\n

The latest event to be confirmed is in Bolton<\/a> as a much-loved light art festival marks its return.<\/p>\n

‘Put Big Light On Festival’ is free to attend and returns to Bolton between Thursday, 20 November and Sunday, 23 November, every night from 5pm until 9pm.<\/p>\n

Once again, visitors can expect dazzling light displays, immersive installations, and vibrant street entertainment popping up across the town centre.<\/p>\n

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Bolton Council\u2019s Executive Cabinet Member for Culture, Cllr Nadeem Ayub, said: “Put Big Light On is more than just a festival, it\u2019s a celebration of Bolton\u2019s creativity, resilience, and community spirit.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re proud to welcome world-class artists and local talent to light up our town and bring people together in a truly magical way.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Put Big Light On Festival returns to Bolton this November(Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n

“Visitors can expect a family-friendly event packed full of entertainment and moving light art displays designed to inspire wonder.”<\/p>\n

Back by popular demand – and for the final time – Dan Archer\u2019s Borealis will illuminate Victoria Square in Bolton Town Centre, creating an immersive Northern Lights experience.<\/p>\n

This ‘world-class’ artwork featured in the first Put Big Light On Festival in 2023 and attracted over 50,000 visitors.<\/p>\n

Borealis recreates one of Planet Earth\u2019s most incredible natural phenomena, the Northern Lights.<\/p>\n

\" Beacon of Hope \u00a9 Craig Morrison(Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n

As beams of light travel through particle clouds, visitors can look up to see the show above above them.<\/p>\n

The particle clouds are moved by wind, over which there is no control, meaning visitors will never see the same pattern twice.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s light show line-up also includes Mars by Luke Jerram – a six-metre diameter sculpture featuring high-resolution NASA imagery of the Martian surface at Bolton Central Library, and Submergence by Squidsoup, Newport Street’s walkthrough experience with thousands of suspended lights.<\/p>\n

There will also be a newly commissioned piece for Bolton combining painting, sculpture, projection mapping, and soundscapes inspired by Bolton\u2019s urban and natural textures at Octagon Theatre.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, The Garden by Ant Dickinson will be an interactive projection where visitors use their mobile devices to control insects and butterflies across the architecture of Le Mans Crescent.<\/p>\n

Submergence by Squidsoup \u00a9 Rikard Osterlund(Image: Rikard Osterlund)<\/p>\n

There will also be Beacon of Hope by Craig Morrison, a timber dome and vertical beam of light create a radiant call across the night sky.<\/p>\n

For its Bolton debut, Folk Dance Remixed joins forces with Craig Morrison to animate Beacon of Hope through a fusion of Folk and Hip-Hop dance.<\/p>\n

Together, they\u2019ll weave a message of unity and hope around the Beacon, culminating in a joyful Ceilidh Jam – a social dance experience that invites everyone to celebrate together at Elizabeth Park.<\/p>\n

Those heading down for the free light event can also expect plenty of street entertainment and activities including a giant owl soaring over Victoria Square, an exotic alien duo inside Bolton Central Library and The Astronaut, a four-metre installation floating above.<\/p>\n

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There will also be a special Light and Music Trail where visitors can explore the museum bathed in colour and UV light, all set to a specially curated playlist.<\/p>\n

Put The Big Light On returns to Bolton town centre between Thursday, 20 November and Sunday, 23 November, between 5pm and 9pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The free event returns to the town this November with ‘world-class’ lights displays, immersive installations and street performances…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[279,8856,155766,748,12232,393,920,4884,2465,485,10968,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-479363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-bolton","9":"tag-bolton-council","10":"tag-bolton-octagon-theatre","11":"tag-britain","12":"tag-days-out","13":"tag-england","14":"tag-events","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-manchester","17":"tag-manchester-family","18":"tag-things-to-do-manchester","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115330398853502623","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}