Eindhoven’s Glow festival

One of the most impressive events that I’ve ever attended is the Eindhoven’s light festival, also known as the Glow week festival. Eindhoven is an awesome city to visit however a visit during the second week of November will definitely steal your heart and guarantee you a unique in a lifetime experience. I’ve visited Eindhoven for the first time a few years ago and to be honest it was a city that surpassed my personal expectations; the atmosphere was just magic! During November (usually from the 10th to 19th) the city hosts one of the most stunning light festivals in Europe that judging from my personal experience there…it’s worth attending!

Glow Eindhoven is a creative light festival in the south of the Netherlands. For over a week, international artists illuminate the city of Eindhoven with their innovative art installation. The Eindhoven light festival transforms the city after dark in a vibrant mix of decorative artworks and the best that colour and lights offer.

Behind this festival and its successful organisation is the ILO, the international light festival organisation. For over three years, the International Light festival Organisation has been uniting European and worldwide light festivals. According to ILO, the Light festivals are at the crossroads of entertainment, design and art which gives them a very specific position from a festival point of view as well as in a cultural context and as a city marketing tool.

ILO wants to strengthen the position of light festivals on the level of artistic excellence and internationalization. Light festivals bring together a very large but also very diverse and broad audience. ILO members want to embrace this diversity and create festivals where there are as few boundaries as possible to have visitors get acquainted with art in public space.

Eidhoven’s city transforms into an artsy light exhibition; the public spaces are decorated, while music and the movement of those create a vibrant and unique atmosphere! There is a variation of themes every year, like nature & architecture (2015), city & science (2016) and ‘The source’ (2017) (a reference to the source of light and the role Eindhoven played in it).

The event is taking place at the centre of the city and the route is about 6km. The city is well organised and there are signs everywhere directing you towards the most impressive installations. What is even better is the fact the whole event is actually free; there’s no entrance fee unless you wanna attend a guided tour with a professional tour guide.

Eindhoven light festival starts each day at 6.30pm. On week days it lasts till 11pm, in the weekend till midnight.

Hurry up, wear your warmest clothes, (yes you’re gonna need to walk for a few hours but believe me it’s definitely worth it) and catch a train to Eindhoven. Grab your camera, drag your friends and enjoy this unique artistic experience!

Credits; Some of the pictures used in this page were taken by my beloved friend Karl Fors during our visit to Eidhoven's Light Festival in 2013. Good job Karlitoo! :)

WORTH VISITING WHILE IN EINDHOVEN...

The Philips Museum; Philips, Holland’s pride when it comes to electronics, has been making technological discoveries for over a hundred years. The Philips museum chronicles Philips’ history, inventions and significance for the city of Eindhoven.

The Van Abbemuseum of modern & contemporary arts; The Van Abbemuseum was founded in 1936 and focuses on modern and contemporary art. The collection includes work by Picasso, Kandinsky, Lissitzky and Rodin, and is considered to be one of the most important collections in the Dutch, Flemish and German region.

The DAF Museum; In the center of Eindhoven the DAF Museum really stands out. Technology and romantic nostalgia go hand in hand with attention to the current DAF model range. The museum is based in a restored brewery where in 1928 DAF was born.