Winter Lights Festival

Events / Winter Lights Festival

Reykjavik’s annual Winter Lights Festival is one of Iceland’s winter highlights, when all six of the city’s municipalities are lit up with illuminations and light installations.

With over 150 creative events, the festival has three main strands. Museum Night is the festival’s most popular event, when the city’s museums and galleries stay open til 11pm, hosting a variety of special exhibitions, performances and workshops.

Pool Night is a unique part of the festival, when the city’s public thermal pools feature immersive light installations and are free to enter. Imagine soaking in a warm outdoor pool bathed in shimmering light displays.

Light Art, the festival’s final pillar, sees the city transformed into an open-air art gallery. Artists utilise the city’s buildings and public spaces as backdrops for their light installations, creating an enchanting urban light show that paints the city with light.

As you weave between the installations and displays, you’ll also find plenty of smaller events happening across the city too, from concerts and theatre performances to dance workshops.