The award-winning free Bristol Light Festival will once again light up the city from Thursday, February 19 to Saturday, February 28, 2026. With Liz West already transforming the Level 7 of the Cabot Circus car park and Cameron Balloons taking over College Green, even more installations have now been announced.
“Bristol Light Festival is about giving artists permission to imagine boldly and play at scale,” said Katherine Jewkes, Creative Director of Bristol Light Festival. “From tiny, intimate worlds hidden in plain sight to vast, breathing creatures that change how we experience the city, this year’s programme is about inviting people to slow down, look again and get involved.
“We’re proud to be premiering new work by Bristol artists alongside internationally recognised studios, and to support ideas that might feel playful, strange or ambitious. So many of this year’s installations are completed by the people who encounter them…”
What’s just been added to the Bristol Light Festival?
Among the new artworks is Jellymonsters, a world premiere by Bristol-based illustrator Rob Hodgson, known for creating playful worlds for children through books and experimental projects that bring characters to life in unexpected ways. The installation introduces mysterious, wobbly creatures beneath the surface of the River Avon.
“Normally hidden from view and surviving on pie crumbs, the Jellymonsters are lured out by the sounds of passers-by, listening, reacting and playing along as visitors whisper, clap, sing or make noise, triggering responses through colour, light and movement.”
Elsewhere, Bell Jar Fairies by Studio Mcguire, invites visitors into the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) to discover 13 tiny glowing fairies displayed inside bell jars, each inspired by Bristol’s landscapes, wildlife and hidden corners—spot the fairies during special late-night openings of the gallery.
While over at Cascade Steps, meet a gentle giant, The Cat That Slept For A Thousand Years, by pioneering soft-robotics studio Air Giants. Stretching 10 metres from ear to tail, the huge inflatable cat subtly responds to people nearby, breathing softly, twitching and purring, creating a moment of calm and wonder.
In the University of Bristol’s Royal Fort Gardens, The Midnight Ballet by Will Budgett transforms the landscape after dark, as seven illuminated steel and light sculptures gather to create an immersive play of light and shadow. Each precisely lit form casts the silhouette of a ballerina, with elegant, larger-than-life dancers emerging from the darkness.
Bristol Light Festival 2026 will run nightly from 5pm to 9.30pm, between Thursday, February 19, and Saturday, February 28, 2026, with admission free and open to all.