Final preparations are underway for the Fête des Lumières, which begins tonight (December 8) after a one-year break.
The light festival in Lyon, France, will run for a shorter time period than usual and under heightened security. Cancelled in 2015 in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, this year’s event will be policed by 750 armed guards and security personnel.
Euronews asked Lyon’s Head of Cultural Events, Jean-François Zurawik, about the message of this year’s festival, given the state of emergency France is currently living under.
“The public space has to remain a ‘free space’ both for artists who present their work and the public who will be able to walk around and appreciate the magic, the poetry and the emotion that these works evoke,” he said.
Les 8 et 9 décembre votez pour votre site lumière préféré et gagnez peut-être un week-end à Prague. https://t.co/p1NSDv04PC #FDL2016 pic.twitter.com/kn7pFwthp2— France 3 Rhône-Alpes (@F3Rhone_Alpes) December 7, 2016
Some 40 entry points have been set up to manage the estimated four million people expected to flock to the festival. Once inside, they’ll be treated to illuminations, videos and images projected onto dozens of the city’s buildings, squares, fountains and bridges.
