The River of Light kicks off tonight in another year of spectacular illuminations.
What makes this year's celebrations so special compared to previous installations is that they're not just for the locals or visitors, they're for Liverpool's new family across the world.
The theme of this year’s trail is 'United By Light' paying tribute to the united by music strapline - used when Liverpool hosted the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine in May 2023.
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An installation titled 'Ukrainian dreams' sees vivid and wildly imaginative works of Ukraine artists Tais Poda and RocknLight, brought to life in an audio-visual display projected on the walls of the Maritime Museum. The colours and soundtrack take you back to when Liverpool and Ukraine first connected and the nation's art and culture began popping up around the city.
The tranquil sounds against the water are enough to make you fall asleep where you stand - a calming contrast to its rowdy neighbour a few minutes away. Lying in the shadow of the Liver Building is another installation named 'united by music.'
As you can imagine, this is another nod to the contest and our Ukrainian neighbours. New York-based design firm Yellow Studio - founded by Julio Himede, the man behind the Liverpool Eurovision stage – is a 10-metre round, multi-purpose performance space paying tribute to the music of Eurovision 2023.
The installation includes six songs from this year’s competition: UK, Ukraine, Sweden, Finland, Israel and Belgium. Where Ukrainian dreams showcases the culture and history of Ukraine, united by music packs the music and energy the UK promised Ukraine as a host for the contest. It takes you back to that May fortnight when thousands gathered in support of Ukraine, connected by music.
And those are only two installations of this year's River of Light. Across the city are towering lampshade bouquets, rainbow-like inflatable structures, stunning hot air balloons and much more.
The River of Light celebrations are always a jaw-dropping night out in the city but this year's nod to Ukraine and Eurovision, even though there was never a need to include either, will have you reminiscing all the way around.
You can still wander around and enjoy the event for what it is but anyone who was in the city for Eurovision will link this year's River of Light to that once-in-a-lifetime experience.
You can find a full guide to this year's River of Light here.
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