Guides
What's on
Where to go
See all

Guides
What's on
Where to go
See all

River of Light Festival – Liverpool

Vicky Andrews

Visit now

River of Light Festival – Liverpool

The Cunard Building, Waterfront Royal Albert Dock, Waterfront
28 October-5 November 2024

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Free
River of Light Festival – Liverpool
River of Light
Book now

Once again this winter, River of Light Festival will take place in the Liverpool City Centre, spanning a 2km trail around the waterfront, in a mix of new commissions and existing artworks which haven’t visited the city before.

Highlights this year include: Atelier Sisu’s installation Bubblesque created especially for bodies of water around Mann Island; Impulse – light up seesaws in that you can actually jump on from Lateral Office & CS Design; Bunch of Tulips by Koros Design which is exactly as you expect, an enormous bunch of lit up tulips, created in relation to the 1630s ‘tulipmania’; and Checkmate by Amigo & Amigo, a monumental version of the classic game drawing inspiration from the 20th Century Bauhaus movement.

Also worth checking out is Piano Walk also by Amigo & Amigo, a studio specialising in bold, playful installations. The piece is an interactive one, featuring 40 interactive keys and piano hammers that strike the strings. Visitors can explore and play with the sounds  by stepping on the keys, together creating a collaborative performance.

There are lots of other pieces and installations to check out on the trail so make sure you catch them all! For the full list of installations and their locations, check out the Festival’s website via the button below.

 

Featured in

Timekeepers
Light Festivals in the North

From enchanting lantern parades to epic LED installations, light festivals are a brilliant way celebrate the magic of the winter months.
Bonfire Night in Manchester and the North
Bonfire Night in Manchester and the North

The only guide you need for Bonfire Night in Manchester and the North – giant bonfires, epic fireworks and the best places to warm up.

Where to go near River of Light Festival – Liverpool

Waterfront
Museum
The British Music Experience

It’s a discotheque for the senses, an incredible collection of artefacts and memorabilia, audio guides, music and stories. There are iconic costumes worn by David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Dusty Springfield, the Spice Girls and Adam Ant, and musical instruments played by some of the world’s most renowned artists from Noel Gallagher to the Sex Pistols.

Waterfront
Café or Coffee Shop
Royal Liver Building

An iconic landmark, the Royal Liver Building was one of the first multi-storey buildings made using a steel-reinforced concrete structure.

Pier Head
Liverpool
Tourist Attraction
Pier Head

Head to the Pier Head for Liverpool’s most iconic buildings on the waterfront.

Afternoon tea at Oh Me Oh My
City Centre
Café or Coffee Shop
Oh Me Oh My

A secret space and tea room, Oh Me Oh My lives in the stunning surrounds of Liverpool’s West Africa House. We take a look.

Liverpool
Restaurant
Silk Rd

Silk Rd Tapas serves up delicious Mediterranean small plates, named after the Silk Route, an ancient network of trade routes, bringing spices and silks.

City Centre
Restaurant
Etsu

What Etsu sushi restaurant in Liverpool lacks in marketing skills, it more than makes up for in Japanese cuisine.

See all places

What's on: Exhibitions

Until
Exhibitions
The Vessel at PINK

Chris Thompson transforms PINK into an uncanny, interactive cabinet of obsessions, inviting visitors to uncover its shifting, unstable narratives.

Free entry
Until
ExhibitionsCity Centre
Just Browsing at the Bluecoat

Please DO touch – Bluecoat’s new exhibition ‘Just Browsing’ allows audiences to get closer to the artworks and engage beyond looking.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Music in the North

Manchester’s starting the new year with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.

Textured portrait image of Jarman
Theatre in the North

Theatre across the North West splits between festive escape and sharp, urgent work exploring politics, power and resistance.

Food and Drink in the North

Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.

A doll with makeup peeks out of a hanging wall of butter yellow fabric. Red and black threads descend and cascade around the doll.
Exhibitions in the North

This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.

A performer in a bright red costume sits on a snowy stage set, holding a large snowball between their legs with a surprised expression. The colourful winter backdrop features snowflakes, hills, a snowman, and a traffic light with glowing lights.
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.

See all guides