The historical downtown of Pécs was once again flooded with light! The 2024 Zsolnay Light Festival between 4 and 7 July clad the squares and buildings of the city in new clothes through magical light creations. The country's first and still only light festival attracted more than 100,000 visitors from both Hungary and abroad, strengthening Pécs' position on the map of cultural tourism.
The central attraction of the Zsolnay Light Festival was the Zsolnay Light Art Video Mapping Competition. Within this confines of this contest, five world-famous light artists presented their 3D mapping artworks focusing on the theme of the Rubik's cube. The colourful light animations accompanied by music coming to life on the façade of the Cathedral provided a stunning visual experience. Based on public votes, the winner was the artwork Chromatic Fusion by German artist Jonas Denzel.
A Fény Útján a látogatók a legmodernebb fénytechnikai csodák és művészeti installációk bűvöletében barangolhattak, összesen 20 fényalkotást megcsodálva.
Along the Route of Light, visitors could wander under the spell of state-of-the-art lighting wonders and art installations, admiring a total of 20 works of light.
Festival-goers could encounter interactive attractions at several locations, getting the opportunity to become active participants in the experience themselves: at the Mosque, they could send their own light energy up to the golden light planet of the dome, while at the Cella Septichora Visitor Center they could conjure light onto a holographic canvas with their hand gestures. The Light Carpet continued to be a big crowd favourite, covering two streets so charmingly that festival-goers often took photos lying in the middle of the road. This year, the Route of Light went beyond the city centre and the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter and its surroundings successfully debuted among the new venues.
International and domestic light artists had a chance to introduce themselves at the event, thus creating a real cultural buzz in the heart of Pécs. A Japanese artist conjured a laser show in the Kodály Center, while the works by a Spanish artist and another by French artist in the city center and in the Zsolnay Quarter respectively transported visitors to the world of science fiction films.
The festival offered not only light experiences. Street theatre and contemporary circus productions, as well as light workshops awaited visitors during the day, while concerts and DJ sets entertained them in the evenings.
At the weekend, the city was completely full; there were no accommodations available, and visitors arrived from as faraway places as Morocco, Japan and Colombia, just to name a few.
It has been proven once again: Pécs is the highlight of summer!
