Sharjah: There’s another reason for UAE residents and tourists to enjoy the cool winter nights as the 10th Sharjah Light Festival (SLF) opened on Wednesday and will continue to mesmerise the public with dazzling lights until February 15.
Spread in 19 locations across Sharjah, the interactive light festival has become a major tourist attraction promoting the emirate’s landmarks while also highlighting the architectural and engineering details of the buildings and monuments.
Organisers say last year’s event attracted more than 1.2 million visitors and this year more people are expected to enjoy Sharjah’s unique cultural and architectural heritage.
Daily shows run from 6pm until 11pm from Saturday to Wednesday, and 6pm to 12 midnight on Thursday and Friday.
Buildings painted with light shows include University City Hall, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah Police Academy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah Mosque, Sharjah City Municipality, Sharjah Roads & Transport Authority, Al Majaz Light Sculpture, Masjid Al Noor, Al Qasba- External Façade, Omran Taryam Square, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Al Hamriyah Area Municipality, Al Wousta TV Building (Al Dhaid), University of Sharjah – Kalba, House of Justice – Khorfakkan, Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport – Khorfakkan, and Masjid Sheikh Rashid Bin Ahmad Al Qasimi (Dibba Al Hisn).
There’s also a live show with fireworks display at Al Majaz Waterfront and Khalid Lagoon while two more locations for food truck areas were added to offer visitors with snacks and treats while enjoying the show.
“Sharjah Light Festival is an innovative approach to promote the emirate and attracting visitors from all over the world,” said Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism.
“It embodies creativity in ideas, mission and art, relying on lights, colors, music and modern technologies, in presenting the finest shows that transform Sharjah into a field of harmonious art curated by a group of international artists, with the notable participation of university students,” he added.
Each year, a new element is added to the light festival. During the opening ceremony on Wednesday, a presentation entitled ’Glorious Sharjah’ took the audience on a visual journey using the four elements of water, fire, earth and air o explore the depths of Sharjah’s cultural heritage and future horizon. The Sharjah Municipality was also transformed into a visual canvas showcasing the first Emirati astronaut in space surrounded by a visual allegory of Arab sciences and discoveries.
Surely not to be missed this year are presentations at the University City area. Students at University of Sharjah has turned their school building into a work of art entitled ‘A Student’s Day in Sharjah’ with powerful emojis and ideograms.
Watch also the show ‘A Journey from Sharjah to America’ at American University of Sharjah and ‘Jungle Book’ at Sharjah Police Academy and get enthralled by 3D video mapping as you immerse in a narrative of survival, fight, fear, love and learning as well as understanding various cultures.
The largest mosque in Sharjah will is also illuminated nightly with a show titled ‘Light Celebration,’ as a tribute to the beauty of Islamic architecture while ‘Planet Sharjah’ is the theme at the Sharjah University City Hall.
Organisers say visitors can also enjoy the augmented reality feature that can be downloaded through an application that transforms the sky above the building into a planetarium.
