Bristol Light Festival 2022: map of locations, do I need tickets, and installations and artists explained

Although the weather forecast might look a little on the dreary side of life with rain forecast and even a little bit of snow on the radar, too, there are plenty of ways you can explore the Bristol Light Festival this weekend without getting too cold or wet.

Running now until Sunday, the Festival aims to illuminate iconic spots across the city, support the recovery of bringing city centre businesses back to full strength and showcase Bristol’s creative spirit.

Off to a smashing start, it has already seen crowds of people turn up and, despite the weather, people have even been queuing to get on the swings at College Green (Swing Song, College Green).

The installations can be seen from 5pm - 10pm across locations such as Park Street, Queen Square, St George’s Bristol, Cabot Circus, Castle Bridge, Temple Gardens, College Green, the Old City and Harbourside. You can expect everything from an animated flock of Origami birds to giant slinky lights and eyes in the trees.

The Perfect Route

Luckily, it’s almost as though the route was planned with a wet weather weekend in mind, with plenty of places en route to hunker down, take a break and feel as though you’re combining a perfect balance of cultural weekend activity with all your favourite indulgent activities.

“Bring a big umbrella, some sturdy shoes and imagine you’re going to a festival and preparing for the worst weather,” says Beth Betts, Marketing Manager for Bristol City Centre BID.

“A good idea is to pop into one of the many bars and restaurants along the way to pick up a drink or some food. The installations are all across the city centre so there are plenty of opportunities to get some respite from the rain.”

The route starts by taking you from St George’s Bristol down Park Street, with a hub of a few installations around the College Green and Millennium Square areas.

Perfect for a drizzly daytime or evening weekend activity, you can plan your route to stop off and take shelter in one of the many brilliant businesses.

“You’ve got tons of bars and restaurants on Park Street if you want to start or finish your evening on that side of the city,” suggests Ms Betts. “You can do the route any way you want to and you’ll go past lots of busy city areas with pubs, restaurants and retail.”

Stop for lunch in Pizzarova while looking over Installation 2 (Neighbours, Park Street) or have a cheeky tipple in one of the many bars in the area such as No.1 Harbourside while peeking at Installation 5 (End over End, Cascade Steps).

From here, why not factor in another little drink under the perfectly placed bar shelter at Arnolfini, the location of Installation 6 (Sign Night, Arnolfini)? The next section of installations takes you through the bustling areas of Queen Square, King Street onto Baldwin Street, before heading across to Castle Park.

You won’t be short of indulgent weekend spots here from the many King Street bars and pubs to Aqua, Brewdog, Franco Manca and Left Handed Giant.

In fact, for the ultimate sheltered spot, Left Handed Giant is even within a part of the Festival itself. “Left Handed Giant has Cascade, which is an installation by a company called Squidsoup and is coming from the opening in the Left Handed Giant into the Floating Harbour below,” explains Ms Betts.

“If you’re in the covered area of Left Handed Giant, you’re within the installation which is really cool. It’s still outdoors, but undercover there.”

For the installation section around Temple Gardens, there are plenty of eateries to accompany the quieter vibe of the city. “For those who want something a bit quieter, head over to Temple Gardens for Luminous Birds by Cathy Kindbeck,” continues Ms Betts.

“It’s a really peaceful installation and we have a one-way system in process so that it doesn’t get too bustling.”

Perhaps this could be a good place to stop for a bite to eat at Marco’s Olive Branch or Recess, before finishing up in Cabot Circus for Installation 13 and 14 (Futures and Exponential). Open till 8pm on weekends, you could even pop into a few shops for shelter and treat yourself to a bit of retail therapy.

Daytime Activity

Although, naturally, many of the installations come to life once the evening draws in, some parts of the Festival are running throughout the day. “Most of the installations are on from 5pm - 10pm but we have some daylight installations as well,” says Ms Betts.

“Swing Song on College Green will be on during the day, as well as Circle of Light at Queen Square - it lights up at night but it looks really nice in the day with its rainbow pieces of glass.”

Finally, does Ms Betts have any favourite parts, or are there any installations that should be a definite on your weekend hit list?

“Office Party on the Cheese Lane Shot Tower has exceeded my expectations in terms of how impactful it is as an installation,” she says.

“The concept of that one is as if our workplaces come to life when we’re not there and it has amazon reflections into the water below. Swing Song is really interactive and a really fun one to do with friends, too.”

The event is free for everyone to attend, and does not require tickets.

For further details on the installations and updates, head to www.bristollightfestival.org, or Instagram @Bristol_Light_Fest, Twitter @Bristol_Light andFacebook. Use the hashtag #Bristollightfestival.