Everything is illuminated at the Copenhagen Light Festival

Visit 50 attractions at this year’s event, which starts tonight and continues for the remainder of February

The Copenhagen Light Festival will light up the Danish capital again this Friday and continue shining until February 27. It attracted over 500,000 visitors last year, so expectations are high it will be another crowd-pleaser.

Organisers have accordingly increased the number of the festival’s attractions to 50: works by artists from Denmark and abroad.

New this year are 3D animated mapping works that will bring to life, among other places, the facades of the historic Børsen and the Sydbank building at Kongens Nytorv.

An example of the 3D mapping: green plants and colourful flowers grow in an animated manner on the building’s façade at Havnegade 29 in the attraction ‘Trust Nature by Umage x Hackstage’

 

Light and fun
“We really want to fantastically brighten up February’s three weeks of cold darkness in Copenhagen, so that life and experiences are created for both locals and tourists,” explains Jesper Kongshaug, the chair of the Copenhagen Light Festival.

The festival extends over the forthcoming winter holiday (Week 7) in the hope that children and their parents will explore the light program together.

The spectacular ‘Photonic Empathy by Lumus Instruments’, which can be found at Here at Bryghuspladsen near BLOX. On a cold evening it will feel like it’s heating you up!

 

With the children in mind
Along Havnegade, the harbour-side road between Parliament and Nyhavn, most of the attractions are interactive. The trampolines tend to be a big hit.

Children who download the official app can earn a free drink from 15 participating restaurants and cafes along the route if they manage to locate 20 of the attractions.

But if that sounds tame, they can go monster hunting in the ruins under Christiansborg Castle.

The dancers can be found near BLOX, but are more of a pop-up event. Dressed in black, the lights hang off the dancers’ limbs for an amazing effect

 

How to get around the festival
The official app ‘Copenhagen Light Festival – within 10 minutes’ comes with a map, which can also be printed out via the website.

If you feel like rediscovering the city with fresh eyes or adding a little more fun, why not book a guided tour. They are available by land or water – a fresh and illuminating perspective from which to see all the attractions.

Tickets for the guided tours can be purchased via the website or specific Facebook events.

And if you’d rather be sitting down while visiting, you can take a special electric car route through the city, which travels along the canals to Amager and back again. Book your trip here.

Each year the festival offers a prize for the best photo. The winner last year was Jeppe Ørsted. Obviously a ‘Star Wars’ fan