GATHER, BE INSPIRED, AND BASK IN I LIGHT SINGAPORE COME 29 MAY 2025

Asia’s leading light festival, i Light Singapore (iLSG), returns this Thursday, 29 May 2025, to transform the city into a focal point for art, sustainability, and togetherness. Organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), presented by UOB, and supported by various partners and sponsors, the Festival invites all to come together to enjoy new experiences and forge memories amidst captivating light art installations and exciting programmes, as well as to reflect on our shared journey for a sustainable future from refreshing and unconventional perspectives. Anchored on the theme To Gather and in celebration of SG60, the Festival features a new lineup of 17 light art installations across Marina Bay, South Beach, and for the first time, Singapore River and Raffles Place. Highlights include a ‘campfire’ that never burns out and giant inflatable humanoids exploring our planet.

2 Mr Jason Chen, Festival Director of i Light Singapore 2025 and Director (Place Management) of URA said, “i Light Singapore is a powerful reflection of how partnerships can transform urban spaces into inclusive and meaningful destinations. By bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise from artists and stakeholders, we have created an experience that welcomes people to not only gather, enjoy and connect, but also be inspired in taking collective action to shape a more sustainable future and lead greener lifestyles.”

Larger-than-life humanoids and ‘campfire’ to capture the heart of our city
3 Commanding attention at Marina Bay are larger-than-life light art installations that reframe one’s perception of scale and space, invoking visitors to think deeper about humanity’s place in the universe and its impact on the planet. Fantastic Planet by Amanda Parer (Australia) features three towering humanoid figures along the waterfront promenade that cast an otherworldly presence over visitors, rendering us small; we are no longer the observers, but the observed instead.

4 Visitors are also set to engage and interact with one another through a line-up of immersive light art installations. In Tandem by students Lee Si Heidi, Rae Koh and Leela Rao (Singapore) from Nanyang Technological University, taps on biometric sensors that translate visitors’ heartbeats into synchronised light and sound patterns on a luminous sphere. Mozart by StudioGEAR (China), situated on the steps of The Helix Bridge, features a white sphere representing a deconstructed piano inviting festival-goers to become performers in a vibrant reimagination of classical music. This light art installation lights up with each footstep and produces compositions that mimic its fragmented structure, encouraging audiences to reflect on how disruption can bring about newfound creativity.

5 Other engaging light art installations include VJYourself! by Playmodes Studio (Spain) and Embrace by Beamhacker (Australia). VJYourself! welcomes festivalgoers to dance playfully and move freely together at the same time, as it captures and returns their movements in the form of digital echoes stitched together into a montage. Embrace, presented by Defence Collective Singapore in commemoration of the Singapore Armed Forces’ 60th anniversary, invites visitors to link hands with life-sized silhouettes, activating a symphony of light and sound that symbolises unity and collective strength, creating a vivid image of protectors and the protected standing side by side – a luminous tribute to the spirit of solidarity that upholds our nation’s military and defence.

7 Beyond light art installations, iLSG has also worked with various event partners, sponsors, and community stakeholders to offer a suite of activities designed to deepen participation, foster connections and inspire shared experiences amongst visitors.

8 Bringing another layer of vibrancy to The Promontory, a new Festival feature, Campfyre @ NOMADS, brings to life a space for the community to gather. Located adjacent to Sign, festivalgoers can take a break at Campfyre while savouring light bites across all four weekends of the Festival .

9 iLSG will also stage a Silent Disco Parade for the first time, on 20 June 2025, 7.30pm – 9.30pm , where participants can groove through the Festival’s light art installations as an upbeat dance procession. The parade will kick off at the ArtScience Museum and will take visitors around the Bay, before concluding at The Promontory.

10 Festivalgoers can look out for a phygital showcase, Cloud City: Built with AI at the Mist Walk along the waterfront promenade, presented by Alibaba Cloud, a key sustainability partner for iLSG 2025. Powered by Alibaba’s generative AI technology, participants can upload a photo of themselves, to generate a scene of themselves living in the future world to envision how innovation transforms urban landscapes to create a greener future.

11 The well-loved GastroBeats returns to the Bayfront Event Space till 22 June 2025, inviting foodies, music enthusiasts, and anyone seeking a fun cultural experience to enjoy a feast for their senses. The Festival Village pulses with daily live music by homegrown and regional talents, and has pet-friendly areas as well as retail zones featuring unique products from local creators and small businesses. A first-ever staging of Rewind, Replay, Remix: SG Edition will also be launched at GastroBeats — participants will be taken on a dynamic journey of the soundscape of Singapore’s past, present and future through different eras of music.

12 To check out the Festival’s line-up from a different perspective, you can do so via a river cruise or a dragon boat session. The i Light River Cruise Shuttle Service allows visitors to enjoy a fresh and scenic view of the light art installations from the water on board eco-friendly vessels. Visitors can also paddle through the Bay in LED-lit dragon boats as part of Glow PAddle 2025 , organised by the People’s Association PAssion Wave as part of the SG60 celebrations, and enjoy a guided tour of the precinct as they row past the light art installations.

13 The signature ‘Switch Off, Turn Up’ campaign will also return alongside iLSG, as it rallies building owners and businesses across Singapore to reduce energy consumption by powering down non-essential lighting and utilising more optimal temperatures for air-conditioning. This initiative is a key highlight of the Festival’s sustainability efforts and invites the public to contribute to change through simple, impactful actions.

14 iLSG 2025 will be held from 29 May to 21 June 2025, 7.30pm to 11.00pm daily with extended hours to 12 midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Admission is free while charges apply for certain programmes. Visit www.ilightsingapore.gov.sg for more information.