Lumiere London – revisit and recap

Last updated: 29 July 2023

London recently held Lumiere London, the Festival of Light.  Originating in Durham, Lumiere London 2016 was a first for the nation’s capital.  The free unticketed event was held in multiple sites across the city and shut roads in key locations to entice thousands of locals and tourists alike to the city.

Piccadilly (the street) was closed to traffic as Luminéoles was installed.  These LED-lit floating fish were guided through the air by their handlers.  Further down Piccadilly, an animated was projected onto 195 Piccadilly, the former home of the Royal Society of Watercolour Painters.

Trafalgar Square hosted two exhibits, Plastic Islands, an art installation inspired by the litter that accumulates in the Pacific Ocean.  The other was Centre Point, which was removed from the Centre Point building in Tottenham Court Road while the building is being refurbished.

Other locations across the city included Kings Cross, Regent Street and St James’s, Westminster and Mayfair.

Some exhibits were placed high to allow large amounts of people to view simultaneously.  Others were simply placed inside a shop window creating a crowd crush as individuals went to view and couldn’t get out as the crowds surged forward.  The worst idea of the bunch was Light Graffiti, when light displays were projected onto the footpath.  This caused chaos as those that wanted to watch couldn’t find a spot to see, and those that wanted to get past couldn’t manoeuvre through the crowds.  Where was the crowd management plan?

My Lumiere London verdict?

To put it simply, mediocre. I went to see Lumiere London over two nights in different parts of the city.  Both times I left frustrated and annoyed.

How can Lumiere London be done better

Any Aussies might be heard saying it’s similar to Vivid Sydney. Vivid Sydney has been running since 2009 and based on personal experience, Sydney does it better.

By taking advantage of existing squares, landmarks and parks, there’s little impact to the city other than crowds.  Also embraces a NYE style crowd management plan, to funnel the large amount of people attending this city wide event.

Vivid has a longer duration, 18 days.  The lights are left on longer each night and key roads aren’t closed off.  The event itself is heavily promoted across the state and people travel to the city especially for it.

Improvements for Lumiere London 2018:

• Crowd management – by installing traffic flow monitoring and signage will stop NYE style chaos
• Leave the lights on later.  Professional photographers and serious amateurs would welcome less crowds and more time to get their shots, it will also hep with crowd control.
• Correct the programme and ensure it’s correct.  Centre Point was moved to Trafalgar Square, the installation on the Mall was cancelled.
• Use less roads and more established locations.   Hyde Park, Covent Garden and Southbank are all established event areas and are car free.
• Don’t advertise places the public can’t access. Leicester Square was VIP only access for some of the event.  As it’s the only Lumiere London installation in the area, it’s a waste of time if attendees can’t get in.
• Brief staff – many staff were asked questions they couldn’t answer.  Simple questions such as ‘what time does the event close?’, ‘where’s the nearest tube station?’ etc. Yes you can Google these questions but any good event organiser knows these details matter.
  Brief volunteers & security staff on detail and expectations.

Will I return to Lumiere London?

I will give Lumiere London another chance but I really want to see improvements in the organisation and promotion of the event.

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