Lights in Alingsås 2015: Record visitor figures and increased trade

Last week saw the end of the Lights in Alingsås festival and the project organizers were pleased to see that the number of visitors exceeded the 2012 record by several thousand.A record 87,622 people walked the light trail during this year's event, compared with about 85,000 each year for the past five years. The visitors were satisfied with their experience, but would like to seemore events linked to the festival next year.

    - With nearly 90,000 visitors this has been a fantastic, record-breaking year. But I'd like to say that this year's success has also been about collaboration with private individuals, organisations and sponsors, and the new series of events which took place during October, says Angelica Larsson, Project Manager of Lights in Alingsås. That’s what makes the festival so special.

Light Night for Children, one of the events developed this year in conjunction with the festival, was also one of the best-attended. “There were queues from beginning to end, and the children were thrilled," adds Angelica Larsson.That evening over 400 children, with parents and grandparents, were in the town park to see the children's own light installations.

Light Night Shopping, the evening when shops and cafés in the town centre stayed open until nine at night, also attracted many visitors to Alingsås.

    - From what shops, restaurants and cafés tell us, in certain areas we can see a thirty percent increase in trade compared with last year's Light Night Shopping event. We have not been able to confirm the exact number of people who came for the evening, but have heard that there have been more visitors and a higher turnover than last year, which of course is very pleasing. If our traders are happy, we've done a good job. Now we have to take their thoughts on board and consider how we can further develop the event next year, says Jenny Almén Linn, Project Manager for Events at Alingsås Chamber of Commerce.

Commitment and collaboration

In 2015, local associations, businesses and school classes have also been involved in the festival by, for example, setting up stands along the light trail where they could sell products and make money.

One institution which made the most of the opportunity and opened its doors to the public was Christinae Church, where every Friday there were queues to attend musical events. Events at Stampen's Kvarn and experiment workshops at Nolhagaskolan also attracted lots of visitors.

    - The main question from visitors has been, 'What's on today? continues Angelica Larsson. Coming to Alingsås to walk along the light trail and see all the amazing light installations is still the main attraction, but when people get here they want even more - to have something to eat, listen to music or something else. That will be our main challenge next year - to get more peripheral events up and running to satisfy demand from the large number of visitors who come to Alingsås every evening during October.

Strong international collaboration

This year's additional installations, the so-called "highlights" along the light trail were given a lot of space and received a great deal of attention. The two light designers Bertil Göransson and Johan Moritz from the company Luxera were responsible for the installations, of which"Gigomaten" and "Gatudress" were two popular examples.

    - We worked closely with the international organization IALD (International Association of Lighting Designers), which sent representatives from the US and the UK during the workshop week. We also have a large number of regular and committed sponsors from the lighting sector, both from Sweden and the rest of the world, who are with us year after year, says Anna Davidsson, Business Strategist and Project Developer.

Work is already in progress to prepare for the Lights in Alingsås 2016 festival, which will take place between 30 September and 6 November next year.

    - Lights have been switched off for the year, but planning for 2016 is in full swing. We are already thinking a lot about the theme, the light trail, our partners and ways of working with sound, says Anna Davidsson.

But exciting things are also happening this winter. As well as lectures and study visits to other light-related events in Sweden and the rest of Europe, Alingsås will shortly be lit up again.

    - On 13 November the Christmas illuminations are switched on in the town centre and on the 28 November the first of many fun, Christmas-related events start, includingdancing around the Christmas tree and visits from Santa. The lights tell us that it's the Christmas season again! concludes Anna Davidsson.

www.lightsinalingsas.se

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For more information please contact:

Anna Davidsson, Business Strategist and Project Developer, Alingsås municipality.

anna.davidsson@alingsas.se

Tel:+46 (0) 322 61 69 01

Photos

You can find free photos of light installations, designers and the Lights in Alingsås workshop at:

www.lightsinalingsas.se/sv/images

All are free for publication.