Photos: Light festival turns Expo 2020 site into celestial stage for Space Week

A stellar cast of planetary-inspired light sculptures, art projections and installations are illuminating the Expo 2020 Dubai site this week, as stunning outdoor nighttime light festival Kaleidoscope celebrates Space Week.

Kaleidoscope is harnessing the beauty of photography, light and visual arts to powerfully connect with Expo 2020’s Space Week, with Instagram-worthy installations that have already proved a hit with visitors, offering a self-guided interstellar-inspired experience that includes social-distancing provisions.

Grant Reid, Vice President, Events and Entertainment, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “Through Kaleidoscope, we are showcasing dynamic programming and the power of human connection.

“This week, as the world comes together at Expo 2020 Dubai to collaborate for humanity’s sustainable expansion into space, our light show is highlighting how cooperation can inspire a better future for everyone on Earth.”

Head to the Sun Stage in the Opportunity District today at 5.30 and 6.30pm, where Kaleidoscope’s light projections provide an otherworldly backdrop to musical theatre performance 'The Sun! The Star!', in which the Sun is the star of the show.

A festival of giant glowing planet installations entitled Mars and Earth will be at Al Forsan Park until October 23, as Expo 2020’s Space Week hosts astronauts, thought-leaders and other space experts to spotlight the latest innovations in space research and travel, providing a platform to discuss critical issues.

The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Awards (HIPA) is providing much of the light show’s imagery and has been specially chosen to link to Expo’s subthemes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability using imagery from HIPA’s archive, which stretches back to its founding in 2011.

Kaleidoscope will continue to bring life to the Expo 2020 site every night, illuminating incredible structures designed by superstars of the architecture world – such as Asif Khan, Foster + Partners, Grimshaw, and Hopkins Architects – as well as Expo’s landscaped public areas.