Bristol Light Festival 2027

Bristol Light Festival returns to the city centre from Thursday 18 to Saturday 27 February 2027, ten days of large-scale installations and interactive artworks scattered across the centre. It's a free event, and it runs from 5pm to 9:30pm each evening, so it's one of those things you can drift into after work or on a weekend night when the sun's gone down.

The festival was started in 2020 by the Bristol Business Improvement District (BID) and is curated by creative director Katherine Jewkes. Since then it's grown into one of the UK's leading free light festivals, returning every year to coincide with the final weekend of the February half-term. It's designed to draw people into the city during the winter months and showcase Bristol as a creative city. The artworks are interactive and family-friendly, and dogs are welcome, though the route can get crowded at peak times.

To give you a sense of the scale, the sixth edition in 2026 welcomed an estimated 200,000 visitors over ten days and generated an economic impact of over £11m. 88% of visitors rated their experience positively, and 78% said they travelled into the city centre specifically for the festival. The organisers describe it as a hugely important winter moment that connects people through creativity and supports local businesses.

So, if you're looking for something to do during the February half-term, you've got ten evenings to work with: Thursday 18 to Saturday 27 February, 5pm to 9:30pm each night, across Bristol city centre. It's free to attend.