Voice of London

Wembley Park is about to be lit up for the second year.

Winterfest annual light festival will be making its way back to North London despite the Covid-19 outbreak. Lucid, the provider of this year’s show of lights has prepared a new and exciting theme to bring to families and residents of the Brent neighbourhood.

This was after last year’s successful launch of the free immersive light festival walk-through, which presented Europe’s first installation of the Sonic Runway, the Illumaphonium, as well as London’s tallest LED Christmas tree with a height of 25 metres.

The light festival will commence on Thursday 26 November 2020, and run daily from 12pm till 10pm until Sunday 17 January 2021.

As a result of the new restrictions under Tier 2 lockdown, this year’s theme known as ‘United in Light’ aims at submerging the community in hope for a positive future which they can enjoy on world-famous Olympic Way. Friends and family will be able to experience a series of uplifting moments and celebrate together during a time when it’s needed the most.

Regardless of the fact that Christmas markets including Winter Wonderland are cancelled for this year, Winterfest is looking forward to cheering people up with its interactive installations.

To achieve this, a brand-new site-specific light installation named ‘Reflections of the Future’’ has been specially commissioned.

‘Reflections of the Future’ will present a 100-metre-long lighted corridor which will create a “unique environment to have optimistic thoughts about the future as they are surrounded by their own reflections, light and sound”, according to its provider.

There will be a series of mirrored LED posts which will be placed at an angle to allow guests to see multiple, distorted versions of themselves and others, creating a strong sense of closeness, even for those visiting on their own.

Along with this theme, the neighbourhood will also witness the return of the tallest 100,000 LED light Christmas tree ever built in London, which was immensely popular in last year’s Winterfest.

Though more exciting yet, the tree will be adorned with a new digital art commission – sounds like it’s worth visiting!

The giant Christmas tree will be found outside London Designer Outlet. There will also be various other installations for people to sightsee throughout December, including an outdoor photography exhibition in Arena Square.

Wembley Park’s Cultural Director, Josh McNorton, has expressed his delight for the Winterfest initiative despite these tough times.

He said: “We are proud to bring back Winterfest for a second year. After such a challenging time for many, we have commissioned our ‘Reflections of the Future’ installation to bring hope and joy to our community and visitors this winter.”

He said: “Wembley Park’s recently transformed Olympic Way has become a promenade of art and celebration, and we are excited for this new spectacular immersive installation to be a part of that for the festive period.”

“We hope that this year’s dynamic installations, located around our wide-open spaces, will bring some cheer to all as they celebrate together, United in Light, in line with government guidelines.”

Words by: Gabriela Jimenez

Sub-edited by: Monika Laimaite

2019 Winterfest walk-through video taken by Niamh Hutchings