After a 2020 edition canceled due to the health crisis, the Festival of Lights will return this year to a classic configuration but more
"inclusive and intergenerational"
, announced Monday Grégory Doucet, mayor of Lyon, during a presentation to the press. Among the 31 works presented from Wednesday 8 to Saturday 11 December across the city, more than 19 new artists were selected for this edition presented as the
"first big post-Covid cultural event"
during a presentation to the press.
The event will be open from Wednesday evening, December 8, with illuminations and entertainment scheduled from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on the first two days. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the course will be open from 8 p.m. until midnight. To meet the health constraints, the town hall specified that
“the protocol which must be in force” would be applied
at that time, with most certainly the wearing of the compulsory mask.
Beyond the emblematic sites traditionally welcoming illuminations and scenographies such as the Saint-Jean cathedral, the Fourvière hill or the Place Bellecour, new places will be invested such as the Romain Rolland quay which runs along the Saône on the side of Vieux Lyon, or Blandan Park in the 7th arrondissement. Another novelty of this edition, which aims to be both
“grandiose and intimate”
, is the installation of three works in the Parc de la Tête d'Or, instead of the usual one.
“The objective is to go further into the park and to the bottom of the lake, a space never used before,”
explains Jérôme Donna, lighting artist in charge of urban lighting in the city.
The ambition will also be to make Lyon a city
“at the height of a child”
, with creations designed for the youngest, such as Blandan Park, where a fun fair will be set up with adapted schedules from 6 to 10 pm. The organization also wants an event that is more accessible to
"
disabled people", such as the elderly. Augmented reality animations are planned in some two hundred nursing homes. A light gallery will also be installed in the Saint-Joseph-Saint Luc hospital.
The budget for this 2021 edition amounts to 3.5 million euros, including 2.2 million euros for the illuminations themselves, one million euros for the payroll used for the occasion as well as some 300,000 euros for the communication campaign.
Economic context requires, the participation of partners is this year reduced by half, amounting to 800,000 euros.