Special Light Night Leeds 2026 plans announced as event returns with big change

Light Night Leeds 2026 will be running on Wednesday, October 28 and Thursday, October 29

Families will be able to enjoy something rather special during Light Night Leeds.

We will see a beautiful ode to memories of a life lived in Leeds - it has been announced. Transforming the façade of The Queens Hotel, ‘Call My Name, Call Me Home’ combines song and story in a moving celebration of belonging and the places that shape a life. Light Night Leeds 2026 will be running on Wednesday, October 28 and Thursday, October 29 - the event dates this year moved to coincide with the school holidays.

This year’s spectacular festival has the theme of A City Speaks… which will explore the stories, people and places that have shaped Leeds over the past four centuries while looking towards the city's future. Created by Leeds-founded digital storytellers ‘imitating the dog’ together with local musicians Hope and Social, the projection at The Queens Hotel will see five decades of memories unfold, showcasing the city’s streets, bars and homes as they change throughout a life. As buildings appear and disappear, the projection maps one person’s journey onto the changing landscape of the city, with scenes and lyrics most can relate to.

Simon Wainwright from imitating the dog, said: “We worked closely with Hope & Social and the lyrics and music actually came first for this piece, with the visuals and animation taking inspiration from the finished song. We’re storytellers and so our main focus is in creating a narrative with heart that everyone in Leeds can hopefully resonate with.”

Several other pieces are also exploring stories about Leeds, with Lou Chapelle’s holographic installations at Leeds City Museum bringing to life three magnificent owls inspired by the owl on Leeds’ historic city crest. As glowing holograms, the owls appear almost close enough to touch as a meditative soundscape transforms the space into their imagined habitat.

Elsewhere, on Cookridge Street visitors can look up and discover glowing neon artworks based on drawings made by children in care, capturing activities they enjoy doing with their foster carer, in collaboration with Foster4Leeds. At Leeds City Library guests are invited to step into 400 years of Leeds history through the remarkable collections of Leeds Libraries, with everything from 17th Century manuscripts and rare maps to photographs, films, newspapers, football fanzines and books. Through a special virtual reality workshop these treasures are brought to life in a new way.

Light Night Leeds is one of the UK's largest light festivals, last year welcoming more than 200,000 visitors across the city over the two nights. The festival is organised and delivered by Leeds City Council with additional funding from Arts Council England, alongside support from sponsors, trusts and foundations based in Leeds, across the UK and internationally.

Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, said: “Light Night is a major event in our calendar every year and we are really looking forward to the wide variety of projections and performances that are on offer for this year’s festival. It’s great to have this opportunity to really celebrate Leeds and bringing people together to explore the stories and the people who make the city what it is.”

To find out the latest events news in our city you can visit our Best in Leeds homepage. There you will also find a guide to great things to do in Leeds. Stuck at home and wishing you were there? Download your favourite artists from Amazon and Apple music.

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