A UNIQUE LIGHTING DESIGN EVENT

The heart of the project is the workshop. Only the theme and the lighting trail are determined in advance by Alingsås Energi. The workshop lasts for one week and the lighting designers and the students work together day and night. No one knows what the final result will be until the grand opening. Thereafter, the installations can be seen for four weeks throughout October.

ONCE UPON A TIME…

In 1998, students from Ljuscentrum at the University of Gothenburg came to Alingsås to experiment with architectural lighting in public spaces. The following year they did the same thing and were joined by students from Jönköping University. It was a success for both the residents of Alingsås and the students. The municipality of Alingsås therefore entered into an agreement with the Professional Lighting Designers Association (PLDA) in 2000. Since 2018, Alingsås Energi is the owner of the project and collaborates with International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) that connects Alingsås Energi with lighting designers around the world.

A BRIGHT FUTURE

Lights is a much appreciated lighting design event by visitors, designers and students.
It has become a matter of course for many who study lighting design and architecture to participate in the workshop and see it as a part of the their education. In the lighting design industry it is even common to ask each other “Have you done Lights?”. And the one who once visited the event and participated in the workshop is happy to do so again. So the question is, have you done Lights?

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS

Lights has become a world-class lighting design event that many people want to participate in. Internationally active designers apply to become Workshop heads and to lead a group of international students, that also apply to be part of the workshop. They get valuable “hands on” experiences of lighting design and the creation of the installations, which can otherwise be difficult to obtain. The workshop week itself is intensive and starts with lectures and presentations. Then sketches and prototypes are made. They are tested, discussions are held and reports are made. Finally, the finished installations are displayed. The workshop offers a wide range of theory and practice.

THE EXHIBITION

Immediately after the workshop ends, the exhibitions begins with an opening ceremony. For four weeks, the installations are illuminated and Alingsås is filled with visitors every night in October who want to walk the lighting trail, on their own or with a guided tour. Cafes and restaurants are open late, shops organize shopping events and associations and companies arrange events for their customers. Running competitions, exhibitions and concerts are other activities that are added each year. A number of so-called highlights (extra installations) can also be seen along the lighting trail, which are either rented or created locally. 2020 was slightly different, due to the current pandemic. 2024 was the year that Lights in Alingsås celebrated its 25th anniversary.

ONE YEAR WITH LIGHTS

Follow the planning for a whole year and discover all steps that takes us to those four magic autumn weeks.

DECEMBER

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APPLICATION

Lighting Designers apply to participate in Lights in Alingsås as Workshop Heads.

JANUARY

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THEME & LIGHTING TRAIL

Alingsås Energi determines where the lighting trail should go and what the theme should be.

FEBRUARY

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SELECTION OF WORKSHOP HEADS

The Lighting Designers get selected.

MARCH

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CONCEPT MEETING

All Lighting Designers arrive to a first meeting in Alingsås where they walk the lighting trail and get to be familiar with the theme. The first concept ideas are developed and sketches are made.

APRIL-JUNE

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Equipment

The Lighting Designers submit requests for equipment. Alingsås Energi has a dialogue with sponsors.

APRIL-MAY

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STUDENT APPLICATION

Students submit their application to participate in the workshop. 40 students in total receive a scholarship från Alingsås Energi.

SEPT-OCT

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WORKSHOP

All students and Lighting Designers meet for the first time during the workshop week to build and create installations together.

OCT-NOV

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EVENT

During 31 days of festivities, the installations are up and running. During this time, visitors can walk with a guide along the trail, attend activities and various events in Alingsås.

ARE YOU A STUDENT AND WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WORKSHOP?

Read more

Prizes & rewards

Winner of the year’s Sustainability Step 2025, Västra Götaland Region

2024

Lights in Alingsås' 25th anniversary won the award for Sustainability Leap of the Year 2025 in the municipal initiative category. The award was presented on November 13 in connection with the Tourist Council Day 2025 at the Bergakungen cinema in Gothenburg. The jury's motivation was: "Lights in Alingsås is not only a fantastic event but also a platform for sustainable urban development. With inclusive guided tours, energy-efficient technology and local commitment, Lights in Alingsås shows how culture can shape the city of the future and create new ways to meet and experience the place."

Winner of the 2025 Sustainability Step in the Gothenburg Region

2024

Lights in Alingsås has been named the winner in the municipal initiative category for the Gothenburg Region, and is therefore one of four candidates – alongside initiatives from Fyrbodal, Sjuhärad, and Skaraborg – for the 2025 Sustainability Step Award. The award annually highlights a tourism business and a municipal initiative from each sub-area in Västra Götaland that has made particularly strong contributions to sustainable tourism.

Shortlisted in [d]arc awards

2024

April 24th was the day for the [d]arc awards 10th anniversary in London. Lights in Alingsås 25th anniversary was nominated in the Event category and competed against 11 other entries from, among others, India, United Kingdom, Greece and Italy. Outline Festival 2024, Russia came in 3rd place. Nobel Week Lights, Stockholm took home the 2nd prize and the winner was Summer Lantern Festival 2024 – Light Dance Moon River, Taiwan.

1st place in [d]arc awards

2022

Alingsås Energi was awarded first prize for 2022’s best lighting design event at the [d]arc awards ceremony in London on Thursday 30 March, beating out numerous international events. With 12 contributions in total in the category, from the UK, Italy, Spain, Hong Kong, Sweden, USA and others.

Shared 4th place in [d]arc awards

2021

After two years of waiting, the lighting design industry finally got to meet again during the [d] arc awards in London on 31 March. The winners were announced in five categories and Lights in Alingsås came in an honorable shared fourth place in the Event category. With 12 contributions in total in the category, from the UK, Russia, Dubai and others. Finally, Lumiere Durham, UK, won this year's best lighting design event.

2nd place in [d]arc awards

2020

Lights in Alingsås came in an honorable second place in the prestigious lighting design competition [d] arc awards in the category Event 2020. The gala, which was to have been arranged in December, was moved forward a few months and finally broadcast digitally from London on April 29, 2021. It was tough competition and 16 nominated entries in the category in total. The first price went to the Acropolis Lights Launch Event (2020), Greece and the third winner was Lumiere (2019), UK.

3rd place in [d]arc awards

2019

On December 5, during [d] arc night in Dalston, London, Lights in Alingsås 2019 was named the third best event of the year in the Event category - in the prestigious lighting design competition [d] arc awards, which the magazine arc magazine organizes annually. The category includes temporary events or temporary collection of installations where the main means of expression is light. Only established lighting designers and lighting artists were allowed to vote on the entries. Among fierce competition and 12 entries from UK, Spain and Germany, Lights in Alingsås finally came on a third place.

“ÅRETS FÖRTJÄNSTPRIS”

2014

Årets förtjänstpris (The Grand Merit Prize) is awarded to a person or organization that has worked for the benefit of Swedish lighting for a long time, in research, education, design or general lighting issues. It can also go to someone who has successfully pursued an individual issue for the benefit of Swedish lighting. The prize was awarded during "Ljusdagen" in Stockholm on 9 September 2014, a trade day for the lighting industry and which is arranged by the organization Belysningsbranschen. ".... This year the jury has chosen to pay attention for the first time to a recipient who is not a natural person. This is completely in accordance with the regulations for the merit prize. The jury is therefore pleased to present Alingsås municipality and its institution Lights in Alingsås as recipients of Bertil and Britt Svensson's Foundation's Grand Merit Award 2014. "

FINALIST IN “STORA TURISMPRISET”

2009, 2011

Stora Turismpriset (The Grand Tourism Prize) is awarded annually to actors who have promoted and developed Swedish tourism, by the Foundation for the Promotion of Knowledge in Tourism with the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth as its principal. The foundation collaborates on nomination and dividends with the Travel and Tourism Industry in Sweden (RTS). The jury's motivation: “Lights in Alingsås is Europe's largest event for experimental lighting, which annually attracts around 70,000 visitors. The initiative engages the business community, the hospitality industry, the university and international partners. Lights in Alingsås is a unique lighting event that has received attention with several international awards, which has greatly contributed to the development of Swedish tourism. ”

THE AWARD AT LARGE: Professional Lighting Designers Convention

2007

Nearly 1,000 lighting designers and other active people in the lighting design industry, from around 50 different countries, gathered on October 29, 2007 during the International Lighting Designers Convention in London. Representatives from Alingsås municipality were present, and to bring home to Sweden, they received perhaps the finest award in the world of lighting design - The award at large. The jury's motivation: "For having created a place for experimental lighting design and for its impact on Swedish lighting design."

“Årets marknadsförare”

2003

Motivation of the jury: "Lights i Alingsås has attracted attention in the national and international press, by designers, architects, and more, and the event has grown into a really good marketing for Alingsås, to the delight of Alingsås residents and visitors." - The marketing association in Alingsås MIA.

“Årets stadsjoker”

2001

At a ceremony on April 4, 2001 in the congress hall in Linköping, Alingsås municipality received the award for the most exciting event in a Swedish city in recent years. The jury's motivation was: "We wanted to support this project with public lighting design, whose purpose is to both teach and create an understanding of public lighting and its significance for human well-being." It is the association "Förnya Stadskärnan" who has taken the initiative for the award. The check of SEK 10,000 was sponsored by the organisation Swedish Trade.

“Marknadsföringspriset”

2000

The local marketing organization in Alingsås awarded the Lights i Alingsås project an honorable mention at the 2001 award ceremony in Nolhagahallen. The jury's motivation was: "The Alingsås brand has been strengthened in Sweden and Europe, for a few weeks in October, Alingsås became a global meeting place for lighting designers ..... the installations attracted tens of thousands of visitors to Alingsås to be inspired by the light."