Book  the second weekend in February, because you’ll never forgive yourselves for missing the immersive spectacle that many areas of the Sant Martí district will become. In an edition that once again aims for excellence in the arts of light, the installations take to the streets. Renowned artists are on the bill, which includes well-known local talents, but also many emerging ones. Come and take a multidisciplinary walk and see how the urban landscape is transformed by the effects of light.  

Many were impatiently awaiting the new edition of this appointment with art and technology, which is more and more surprising every year. This year’s event is the fourteenth and has been held since the beginning, coinciding with the weekend of the Santa Eulàlia festivities. However, it has its own personality and a prestige that the artistic director Maria Güell has worked for. In addition, Martin Pošta, founder of major cultural events and a cultural manager with a long career, as well as a producer of films and documentaries, is collaborating with her.

As a novelty, the opening hours of the installations have been extended this year, which can be seen on Fridays and Saturdays, from 7 pm to 1 am, and on Sundays, from 7 pm to 11 pm.  Here, disciplines such as stage design, dance, visual art and photography communicate with the language of light, as does architecture. You will see how light redefines our relationship with our surroundings, that is, with the city.

Among the authors of the thirty large installations in the programme, names such as Mouawad + Laurier, who present Rising, an immersive proposal that, through the hypnotic beauty of water, reflects on the rising sea level. Here, climate anxiety becomes an aesthetic experience. In the courtyard of TNC, look for Traffic Jam Zoom, a work by the scenographer and illuminator (ask the theatre people, she’s one of the best) Laura Clos ‘Closca’. Here you will find an automobile jungle (or hell) that is nothing more than a metaphor for society.

LOOP, an installation by Olivier Girouard, Jonathan Villeneuve and Ottoblix brings a modern version of the old zoetrope to Plaça de Coderch, while Rosa Tharrats brings light, movement and matter into dialogue at DHub in Fosfènica, where light, movement and matter dialogue in harmony.  And, also in the DHub, specifically on the façade, you see the beginning of everything… imagined by an artificial intelligence. What comes from introducing the verses of the biblical Genesis into a machine? Ask Joan Fontcuberta, author of Gènesi.IA.

Torre Glòries, turned into a Greek Titan by Anna Rierola at Okeanós; the fusion of nature and technology by Martina Ampuero at MØSS (Tànger, 8); the research on the concept of Transit that is the first collaboration between Studio Animal and Cabosanroque; the reconversion into art of the typical children’s playgrounds at Impulse, by Lateral Office and CS Design on Carrer de Pere IV, and the luminous architecture of 48 pillars, by Bruno Ribeiro, at the Museu Can Framis are some of the other proposals, as is (De)construct, an interdisciplinary work of art that combines dance, light and sound in Plaça de Gutemberg at the UPF and which is the work of Plateforme de la jeune création franco-allemande.

If you want to see filmmaker Isaki Lacuesta‘s contribution to Llum BCN, you’ll have to come to the MUHBA Oliva Artés, where the electronic music of Ylia and the voice of Alondra Bentley form part of an immersive experience. And at Parc del Centre del Poblenou, Playmodes will make us aware of the loss of the night sky in Astres.

Daniel Rossa, with Metatecture on the façade of the RBA Building, and Lukáš Dřevjaný – OXOO, with Terraform (Camí Antic de València, 54 – Cornerstone Building), an artistic piece of audiovisual projection, complete the list of great installations at Llum BCN.

But it doesn’t end there. Students from seventeen university art and design schools are also presenting their creations with light as the main material. Their works have been developed with the advice of the artistic direction and the support of the festival’s production team.

During the festival, a committee of experts will visit the installations and award three Young Talent Prizes in the categories of City, Atmosphere, and Risk, as well as two special mentions. The jury for the Young Talent Prizes 2025 includes Carolina Rosich, a cultural journalist specialising in visual arts, architecture, and design; Leticia Martín, a cultural programmer and producer, and director of the Grec Festival of Barcelona; Daniel Rossa, a new media artist participating in Llum BCN 2025; and Antònia Folguera, a curator and communicator specialising in digital art and culture.

In addition to the official proposals, Llum BCN will feature two +Llum installations: NexusVision at the Yamaha Light Meeting Point, and Constel·lacions, created by Goula Figuera Studio to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Disseny Hub Barcelona.

Eleven additional installations will comprise the Off Llum section, organised by the Poblenou Urban District, with participants such as Indissoluble, blit., Razzmatazz, Dark Light Studio, and BeatMe Lab Studio, among others.

How can you experience the whole festival without missing a thing? Follow the four itineraries suggested by the organisers, all linked to public transport, and you’ll see everything from top to bottom.

On Friday 7th and Saturday 8th February, as part of the Llum BCN 2025 festival programme, the Llum BCN Pro day will also be held, an event aimed at professionals in light-based arts and students of architecture, art, and design. The activity, coordinated by Antònia Folguera, includes public lectures by Antoni Arola and the Playmodes collective.
Among the festival’s sponsors, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) plays a prominent role in various artistic installations, such as Gènesi.IA by artist Joan Fontcuberta, as well as an exclusive piece by artist Alice Labourel. This 15-minute video performance will be screened on 6th February on the South Screen megascreen at the Fira.

Additionally, Rosa Tarrats’ installation was created in collaboration with the Fundació Sorigué; Anna Rierola’s creation was sponsored by Mirador Torre Glòries; Studio Animal and Cabosanroque’s proposal was supported by Simon; and Isaki Lacuesta’s immersive experience received collaboration from Benito.

Meanwhile, Yamaha contributed to the festival by sponsoring the installation NexusVision, created by a team of students from the Escola Superior de Disseny ESDI-Sabadell. This 50-square-metre circular structure, built with scaffolding and LED lights, explores human interaction through light displays that constantly transform the space. The project was the result of a workshop for design, architecture, and fine arts students on the creation of ephemeral structures.

For more information about Llum BCN, visit the website to explore all the details of this year’s programme.