Lightwaves at Salford Quays 2025

Start Date: 4 Dec 2025

End Date: 7 Dec 2025

Venue: MediaCityUK

Lightwaves, the free light trail is back in Salford Quays for this Christmas 2025 offering a fun festive activity.

Lightwaves is back for Christmas 2025 offering a free festive family event.

Here is everything you need to know:

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Lightwaves at Salford Quays

Lightwaves Salford Quays installations — Credit Media City

This December you can explore a trail of dramatic outdoor light art installations that animate around Salford Quays and MediaCity this winter.

Although it has been confirmed that the event is back for 2025, the full details have not yet been released.

Last year Lightwaves featured 14 artworks along a 2km including brand new commissions by Quays Culture.

Visitors can expect a variety of different works using light, sound and technology including:

Monad by Anastasia Isachsen – A giant projection-based artwork that will be seen across the water from MediaCity. At 30m wide, this huge artwork incorporates video projection using a mist of water as a screen and is accompanied by a deeply emotional musical composition.
SomniUs by illumaphonium – A huge interactive light and sound installation constructed using over 6km of LED lights suspended 3m above the audience. As people move, the sound and lights respond and patterns change and grow.
SYSTEM LIGHTWAVES PSB – An exciting new commission that invites you into a world of lights, screens, sounds, and the chaotic world of bike riders in the urban environment.
The Matter of The Heart – Brand new for 2024, artwork by award-winning art studioidontloveyouanymore it will incorporate heartbeat data from real people in real time with 100 flashing hearts.
Stellar Waves – A visionary kinetic light sculpture, specially crafted for Lightwaves 2024 by Manchester-based Lazerian, the creative design studio of artist Liam Hopkins. This kinetic sculptural installation draws inspiration from the vast and enigmatic realms of space exploration and the striking visual language of 1980s graphics.
RED FIELD – Step into a glitching Martian landscape and leave your own footprints on Mars’ alien and politically contested landscape.
Entwined – An interactive light installation that celebrates the community spirit of Salford. Located in MediaCity Gardens this brand new piece combines voices, sound, light, sculpture, and painting to create a multisensory experience.
A Cry For Help by Ben Everard – An interactive, thought-provoking artwork about helping the insect world. A collection of glittering insect sculptures slowly go dark when there’s no one there and brighten up when people move close again.
For peace! – A 125 m long artwork depicting a series of moving figures who go from walking to running, presented waterside along the quays.
I caught a… A playful artwork by French artist Stéphane Masson. As night falls, you will discover a changing series of curiosities exhibited in a cage erected in the street to enchant passers-by. A goldfish, an elephant or even a solitary cloud – who knows what you’ll see?
On the Wave of Light – An interactive installation that celebrates the vibration of light and consisting of 100 interactive light poles, this playful artwork will respond to the interaction of visitors and is sure to be a favourite with younger visitors.
REFLECT – A calmer atmosphere is evoked by Emma Gasson, as her showcase encourages people to ‘drift’ and relax as they interact with the surface of water, generating ripples and reflections for personal contemplation and an escape from busy productivity.
Through No 4 by Liz West Originally commissioned by Quays Culture in 2021 – is a well loved landmark on MediaCity. This year at Lightwaves Salford the piece will be creatively lit to add even more magic, and allow it to shine like a jewel on the waterside.
The Light Within – Premiered at Lightwaves Salford, the artwork explores the impact that light has on our wellbeing in a playful and interactive way – harnessing the students’ skill in cutting-edge creative technology.