Page 52 - February 2020

LUCI D’ARTISTA RoCKEFELLER CEnTER
SPECIAL FEATURE | FESTIVE LIGHTING Salerno, Italy new York, US

HELLo PAnDA FESTIVAL
new York City, US

HALDEnzAUBER
north Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

hile Christmas has not long passed, I can
promise you people are already thinking
about the next one. In just under 11
W months, the crazy season will once
again be upon us and retailers, shopping centres and
entertainment districts need to be thinking about it now,
planning ahead and making the most of the opportunities
it will present.
According to festive lighting experts MK Illumination,
getting visitors out of their sofas, away from their screens
and into retail stores and shopping centres over the festive
season is therefore critical, and retail spaces need to deliver
more than fantastic shopping and eating opportunities.
Companies need to go all-out and create an atmosphere
and experience that is out-of-the-norm, something that
Lighting Up people don’t see every day. On top of that, the experience December. The highly-anticipated return of this after-dark
needs to meet the expectations that people hold about
festive extravaganza saw the Garden transformed with
Christmas and the holidays and be innovative enough to
several new awe-inspiring attractions for visitors to enjoy.
stand out from the crowd.
MK Illumination themselves created a new leisure
One such experience could be found at the first Hello
The Globe Panda Festival in New York’s Citi Field. Held between 6 concept designed to act as a temporary winter attraction
and draw visitors to give retail and leisure businesses in the
December and 26 January, the event featured over 120
Instagrammable displays utilising more than ten million
town a boost. Located in Hückelhoven, a town in North
Rhine-Westphalia, Germany it was a light park called
individual lights. Handcrafted by 60 world-renowned
“Haldenzauber” which featured 300,000 light points and
lantern artisans, the displays were designed in a myriad of
shapes and sizes – including the tallest North American
lantern Christmas tree at 60ft tall, a 98ft long panda 300 light objects.
Outside of the UK, if you like a Christmas lights display with
As the world moves into a new decade, one that will lean more heavily than ever on psychedelic light tunnel, life-sized dinosaurs, giant pandas a difference, then Luci d’Artista in Salerno needs to be on your
radar this year. Here you’ll find heaps of light installations and
and dream-like scenes of underwater life.
technology, the way stores, centres, brand and entertainment spots attracts customers will Closer to home, Kew Gardens was once again a place sculptures - we’re talking everything from Christmas trees to
not to miss as, framed by glittering spiral trees and dynamic foxes, lions and sharks - for a quirky walking trail.
become ever more reliant on light and sound. Here, RLI takes a look some the best examples laser projections that illuminated the iconic Temperate Our final example is a classic, the Christmas tree at
House, visitors could walk amongst the immersive vines as the Rockefeller Center is iconic, and has been attracting
of festive lighting from all corners of the world. they surprise with changing ribbons of light. thousands of visitors and locals alike for decades. The huge
Up in Scotland meanwhile, one of Edinburgh’s most tree is a feast for the eyes, adorned with heaps of colours
popular festive season events, Christmas at the Botanics, and eye-catching decorations. The lighting of the tree is even
returned for its third year from 22 November to 29 filmed live so that millions can watch from around the world.
KEW GARDEnS
London, UK

BoTAnIC GARDEnS
Edinburgh, Scotland