Light Up Macao brightens winter nightlife across the city with art displays and performances
- The annual event returns with the theme of ‘The Dazzling Wonderland’, and is running for three months in seven districts of the city
- It features 36 light installations, 20 interactive installations and three projection-mapping shows developed by local and international creative talents
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Annual Light Up Macao festival turns city into glowing winter wonderland
Macau is famous for its bustling entertainment districts as well as its Unesco-recognised historic centre featuring southern European-style architecture. But from now until February 25, the whole city has become a spectacular light show that feels like Lewis Carroll’s classic book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland bursting to life in the 21st century.
At this year’s edition of the annual Light Up Macao festival, which is themed “The Dazzling Wonderland”, the city can be seen in a vividly different light at 34 locations across seven districts: Central District, Praia do Manduco District, Nam Van District, Zona Nova de Aterros do Porto Exterior (NAPE), Northern District, Taipa and Coloane.
Visitors can stroll through a field of glowing flowers while luminescent butterflies flutter next to Nam Van Lake, play tunes by dancing across an interactive piano keyboard at the Fantasy Fairyland display in Taipa, or see the century-old Chapel of St Francis Xavier in Coloane transformed by projection mapping on its facade. Those experiences are among the 36 light installations, 20 interactive installations and three mapping shows being offered at the festival.
This lighting extravaganza kicked off in December and will continue to shine through Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, Renri – known as “everyone’s birthday” in Chinese culture – and the Chinese Lantern Festival. It is organised by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) in collaboration with six integrated resort enterprises.
The various light installations involve local talents as well as creative teams from mainland China, Hong Kong, the UK and Japan, while the mapping shows have been developed by projection teams hailing from Macau and two Unesco Creative Cities of Design: Seoul and the mainland city of Wuhan. This international line-up of artists reflects Macau’s status as a global city of creativity and culture.
Throughout the event, MGTO is supporting a number of community organisations to present innovative outreach activities to the public. They include Light Up! F’art for U, taking place on weekends until January 21, where people can seek out an art food truck on Rua do General Ivens Ferraz in the Fai Chi Kei area of Northern District to order performances from artists along with takeaway.
Information counters have been set up across the city to provide guidance to visitors who are interested in navigating all of the festival’s experiences. They are located at the Sofitel Macau’s front courtyard in Central District, the Barra Public Transport Interchange Square in Praia do Manduco District, the Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre at Nam Van District, Dr Carlos d’Assumpção Square in NAPE, the Leisure Area on Rua do General Ivens Ferraz in Northern District, Camões Square in front of Pak Tai Temple in Taipa, and Largo Eduardo Marques in Coloane.
Visitors can also collect a gift from one of these counters by sharing photos of their Light Up Macao experiences on social media, using the hashtags #lightupmacao2023 or #ilumninarmacau2023, and garnering 20 or more likes. In addition, they can play the festival’s online game, Dazzling Hunt, on the event website to be entered into a grand lucky draw.