As Derry-Londonderry prepare to hand the torch of Culture over to Hull, they have certainly proved their worth as the first ever UK City of Culture this past year. We went to Lumiere festival of light, which saw the city transformed into a luminous cityscape full of colour and light. It’s estimated that an insane 180,000 people attended the festival over the course of the four days.
As the darkn
ess drew in, the sculptures and buildings lit up, making Derry-Londonderry a sort of interactive artwork, with things to see around every corner. There was the newly commissioned Teenage Kicks, featuring a 30m long neon sign with the line ‘A teenage dream’s so hard to beat’ residing over the BT building’ in tribute to Derry band The Undertones’ famous song, and with everything from the awe-inspiring ‘travellers’ flying high over the Peace Bridge, to the neon fluorescent balloon animals, there was something for everyone.
The highlight of the entire evening was the world’s oldest department store, Austin’s being turned into an audio-visual artwork via projections called Voyage. There were hoards of people crowded in The Diamond all night long, waiting to catch the next show.
Unfortunately, the sheer amount of people meant that the queues to get across the Peace Bridge were miles long, meaning we didn’t get over to the other side of the city to see the fire garden at St Columb’s Park, but all in all the city was transformed into a wonderland, the atmosphere was electric and locals and tourists alike saw all that Derry-Londerry had to offer. 2013 has been a proud year for Northern Ireland!
