A giant slinky, an inflatable castle, a huge neon colouring wall and a high-powered light beam sharing a morse code message with the universe, were just some of the illuminated exhibits on display as thousands of visitors from across Scotland and the UK took to the streets of Aberdeen to experience Spectra, Scotland’s Festival of Light.
Over 100,000 visits were recorded across the four-day free-to-attend event, which ran from Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 February.
Featuring 15 artworks from artists from both the UK and Australia, as well as an assortment of entertainment from street performers to dancers, and musicians, this year’s event marked the festival’s 11th year of lighting up the city.
Councillor Martin Greig, cultural spokesperson for Aberdeen City Council, said: “Spectra offers an unrivalled cultural feast of light installations and entertainment.
"It's great that thousands came out in such numbers to enjoy the festival. It has been a wonderful opportunity for people in the city to get together and make Spectra 2025 such a success.
"Many visitors have come to our wonderful city to experience the amazing images and sounds. I would like to thank the brilliantly talented artists who have created these inspiring artworks.
“Our production team, Live Event Management, deserve sincere thanks for their splendid work to make this festival happen. We are all grateful for the very generous sponsorship from Burness Paull, Vattenfall, First Aberdeen, Aberdeen Inspired and EventScotland. Their funding support has made a huge difference and is much appreciated.
“The festival theme of Journeys was especially appropriate as the city gets ready to host the Tall Ships Races in a few months time. This will be another opportunity to keep our profile up. A majestic fleet of ships will return for the first time in almost 30 years. This is going to be a very exciting time for the Granite City as it hosts another major free celebration for residents and visitors to enjoy together."
Fiona Doherty, an Aberdonian who now lives in Livingston, attended the festival for the first time after winning a social media competition. She visited on Sunday with her husband and two-year little girl.
She said: “It’s been amazing to visit Spectra. I’m originally from Aberdeen but previously never visited the festival so it was great to have the opportunity to finally attend with my daughter after winning the competition!
"It’s been lovely to travel up from Livingston for the night. Taking the train made for a really easy and stress-free trip, with my little girl enjoying the views along the way as well as the lights and atmosphere of Spectra. We’ll definitely visit again in the future!”
Scott Morrice is from Aberdeen and is a regular visitor to Spectra. He said: “Spectra is such a wonderful spectacle for the city. I come every year and it’s really great to see so many people out and about at a time when the city centre might need a bit of a boost.”
Highlights of the festival included a 50m long multi-sensory walkway by Kent-based Lucid Creates, which explored the contrast between light and dark using strobes of light, the heartbeats of over 65 Aberdonians, a sprawling illuminated fungal network and a virtual exhibition by artist Craig Barrowman and local artists in partnership with Look Again at RGU’s Gray's School of Art.
A specially commissioned art piece by Aberdeen Art Gallery and Scottish artist, Council Baby, took pride of place in the Gallery’s magnificent Sculpture Court area which saw a large-scale video installation projection comprising of four striking stained-glass designs inspired by works in the city’s collection and visits to the area, with each animated panel capturing different aspects of Aberdeen's rich history. The piece will continue to feature at the gallery as part of its permanent collection.
The iconic ABERDEEN letters by Aberdeen Inspired also featured a special design for the occasion outside Marischal College. The letters will now return to their usual position in Union Terrace Gardens.
Eventgoers are being invited to share their thoughts and feedback on Spectra by completing the visitor survey.