Light Night Leeds 2023 - Inside Laura's Head

I love photography, I think most bloggers do. I really love photography where I get to play with light. As a travel blogger, most of my shots are taken in the daytime, so I can really show the beauty of a place, so I very rarely get to play with the my Olympus Pen or my Canon DSLR cameras at night time. I’ve attended Leeds Light Night every year for the past few years (it was cancelled during Covid, of course) and it’s fast become one of my favourite nights of the year. I wanted to share more about Light Nights, which are held in lots of different cities all over the world, so you can decide if attending one is for you. And enjoy my many photos of Light Night Leeds 2023 whilst you’re here!

Leeds is my closest city, so it makes sense for me to do their Light Night. Wakefield, fairly nearby, also has one in November which I’m eyeing up, and there’s one in Blackpool soon (a few weeks after we’re there for the day, typical!) but I’m most excited about the day I eventually manage to be abroad for a Light Night in a city I already love, like Amsterdam. Seeing any city all lit up at night is a really cool experience, and Light Night Leeds 2023 did not disappoint.

What’s Light Night?

Think about a large, outdoor art gallery, where the exhibits can be touched and sometimes interacted with in unusual, unexpected ways, and you’ve got Light Night. Artists from all over contribute each year and as well as the static things like neon on walls, there’s usually a show or two where light is projected onto a building, with the soundtrack to match, as well as a parade or circus acts or both.

Light Night is spread over the city, so it’s useful to plan the things you really want to see beforehand, or do both nights if you’re close enough. Leeds Light Night 2023, as well as previous ones, is held over two nights which is super useful.

How much were tickets to Light Night Leeds 2023?

Brilliantly, Light Night is a free event. Yes, you’ll have to pay to park, or take public transport into the city, if you’re not within walking distance, but once you arrive you don’t need to pay a penny. There are plenty of places you can buy food and drink, or light up accessories, but you absolutely don’t need to. We bought two hot chocolates and a brownie because we fancied a treat, so our evening cost us less than £10 after parking. A real bargain.

Is Light Night suitable for families?

It’s really family friendly in my experience. You’ll want to make sure younger children aren’t scared of the dark or crowds, and that they know to stay with you and not run off, but the event is always full of children and there’s lots of activities for them to do, for free, as part of the evening. I’ve definitely suggested Light Night to local friends with children, most children have a great time.

How busy was Leeds Light Night 2023?

Light Night this year was busy, not not ridiculously so. We didn’t have to queue long to get into the exhibits that limited visitors, and we could move around the city easily and quickly. We did attend on the Thursday, and I suspect the Friday was busier, but it should still have been bearable.

With any outdoor event, it depends on the weather too. We had a dry night, and it had only started getting colder that day, so more people were out than there would have been if it had been pouring with rain and below freezing. This years unseasonably warm weather definitely impacted the turnout.