The 2012 Light Festival Ghent: Theme Happiness

The second edition of the Light Festival Ghent took place in the city of Ghent, Belgium this year from January 26th to the 29th, 2012. This years event followed the “Happiness” theme, and really how could you not be taken over by happiness and feelings of joy with the buildings and monuments of Ghent, amazingly animated with light displays and even put to music.

PHOTO: Pitaya at the 2012 Light Festival Ghent

The free admission at the Light Festival Ghent (LFG) of 2011, attracted somewhere around 200,000 visitors from home and abroad, and 2012 brought in over 1/2 million spectators. A fabulous success for only the 2nd year running.

PHOTO: Luminaire De Cagna at the 2012 Light Festival Ghent

The stunning light displays began about two miles outside the city of Ghent, leading to this astonishing 55,000 LED light display (photo above), installed by Luminaire De Cagna an 80-year-old Italian lighting company. The nights of Ghent, Belgium were the backdrop for amazing animated lighting projects, ingenious installations, stellar performances and beautiful events, and the best part of all….they were all based on light.

PHOTO: Spectaculaires at The Light Festival Ghent 2012

Besides the spectacular projections and installations of the Light Festival Ghent, this sensory explosion also provides a space for projects and experimental lighting applications to students and young artists from local art schools.

PHOTO: Illuminated Flowers at the 2012 Festival Light Ghent

As lighting technology and applications continue to grow into a substantial art-form, so will the number of light shows. We look forward to the Light Festival Ghent’s exceptional light show display next year. And from the words of Luminaire De Cagna, ”Light is a meaningful sign conveying a world of emotions, feelings, thoughts and vibrations. Light is a great mean expressing spatial and temporal suggestions, actions and moods. Light designs and creates spaces, atmospheres and depths, structuring itself as a constructing element of places, times and relations.”