Llum BCN 2023 festival illuminates city with playful installations

Those who are scared of the dark should go to Barcelona's Poblenou neighborhood this weekend to enjoy this year's edition of Llum BCN festival of lights. By wandering around, you will enjoy at least one of the many light displays prepared by students and professionals.

Llum BCN comes from the Catalan word for light and is a mix of art, technology, light, music, design, and architecture. But also of 'oooh' as that is what many walking on the streets say when they are face-to-face with a light installation.

This year, there are 13 professional light installations and 15 works made by students, and as this is a free event and no registration is needed, organizers expect tens of thousands of visitors; just last year 110,000 attended.

Reflections on energy crisis and climate emergency 

Although there is no overt theme to the 2023 festival, several projects reflect on the energy crisis and climate emergency. 

Another Moon from the Korean collective Kimchi and Chips features a second moon that will float above Poblenou Central Park, sketched by lasers powered only by solar energy. 

Dutch artist Thijs Biersteker's We Harvest Wind is an interactive kinetic sculpture powered by wind power.

Atmospheric Lighthouse will provide a real-time visualization of the city's atmosphere on the outside of the Glòries Tower. 

Liberty and Light from Chila Kumari Singh Burman, a British artist of Indian origin and a key figure in the 1980s British Black Arts movement, will cover the Can Framis building with neon sculptures that have been locally produced through cooperative work with two organisations in Barcelona's El Raval neighborhood: Tot Raval and Impulsem. 

Getting there 

The area can be accessed via metro, tram, bus or train. 

The closest metro stops are Glòries (red line L1), Clot (red line L1 and purple line L2) and Llacuna, Poblenou and Selva de Mar (all yellow line L4).  

Tram lines T4 and T5 serve the area, as do several buses: 6, 7, 62, 136, 192, H12, H14, H16, V25, V31, B20 and B25; and night buses (NitBus): N2, N6, N7, N8 and N11 

The Rodalies train network lines R1, R2, R2N and R11 call at Clot-Aragó station. 

For more information visit www.tmb.cat. 

Accessibility and recommendations

Llum BCN installations are generally accessible for people with reduced mobility. The installation Monolith by SpY is not fully accessible for people with reduced mobility, but can be viewed and enjoyed by all. 

On some streets, lighting will be reduced. Organizers ask visitors to be careful as they move through the area. 

Some installations are not recommended for people with special visual or auditory sensitivities. 

Arborialis, from Architects of Air, will start two hours earlier, at 4.30pm, with visitors asked to spend no longer than 20 minutes immersed in the luminarium, or pneumatic sculpture. Organizers recommend that people wear thick socks or a second pair of socks, as shoes must be left at the entrance.