Sunderland Festival of Light ticket details as event dazzles with new attractions
by Barbara Hodgson · ChronicleLiveBringing a blaze of colour to dark nights, Sunderland Festival of Light has made a welcome comeback for another year and is inviting visitors to explore its trail of sparkling artworks until late November.
New additions to the festival, such as Starscape - creating an illusion of a field of white stars - and Cosmic Oasis, which illuminates trees in UV light, are among the attractions currently transforming Sunderland's Mowbray Park into a spectacle of colour. Other illuminations include a laser garden and a giant glitter ball in its historic Victorian bandstand area which acts as a focal point of the 'nightly silent disco'.
The light festival launched on Friday and is available to visit on dates up to November 24. Here is a guide to what to expect and how to book, including details of a special discount offer on tickets to various performances of this year's pantomime at Sunderland Empire.
Festival of Light 2024
Light attractions - award-winning artists from around the world are behind some of this year's new illuminations. Poland-based visual artist Ari Dykier has created The Mirror and French multidisciplinary artist Sebastien Labrunie has designed a piece called Hypha.
Making a return from last year will be the popular sparkling light tunnel over the bridge which links the two sections of the park. Another attraction, promising a prime photo opportunity, is a 'selfie lane'.
Timings - the festival in Mowbray Park, Burdon Road, will be open from 4.30pm daily until Sunday, November 3. It then will open a little later, 4.40pm, on Thursdays to Sundays until November 24 - except for Remembrance Sunday on November 10.
Last admission will be at 8.30pm and the event will close at 10pm. Public access to the park will be closed at around 3pm each day during the festival's run in order to prepare for the evening's visitors.
Tickets - these cost £5 and involve booking a time slot for your visit. Once in, there is no time limit on how long you can stay.
Tickets must be bought online in advance as there will be none for sale at the gate. Children aged under two can be taken along for free. To book see here.
Panto ticket offer - visitors to the festival can take advantage of a special deal of 20% off ticket prices for select performances of this year's Jack and the Beanstalk panto at Sunderland Empire. The offer applies to price bands A-C for the following performances only:
Friday, December 13 at 7pm
Saturday, December 14 at 5.30pm
Sunday, December 15 at 5.30pm
Tuesday, December 17 at 7pm
Thursday, December 19 at 7pm
To redeem the offer, opt in to hear from Sunderland City Council events when buying tickets. To book see here.
Accessibility - the Festival of Light is fully accessible to pushchair and wheelchair users. There are also baby-changing facilities and toilets.
Quiet Hour - those looking for a quieter or calmer experience can pick a visit during quiet hour, which will be 4.30pm to 5.30pm every Thursday. During this time, music in the park will be turned down.
Food and drink - a range of food and drinks will be on sale in the park. Visitors are also welcome to take along their own refreshments but alcohol is forbidden.
Parking - while visitors can reach the park from bus and Metro - see timetables here - there will be free parking from Monday to Friday after 3pm at the following car parks: Gorse Road; West Wear Street; Charles Street; Tatham Street and Nile Street.
On-street pay and display parking bays have charges all days between 8am-6pm and Riverside, St Marys and Sunniside car parks are chargeable at all times. And all city centre car parks are chargeable all day on a Sunday at a flat rate of £3.
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community