After-Dark Light Festival Lightscape Will Brighten Up the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens This Spring

Walking through stunning lights as far as the eye can see, moseying beneath a canopy of glowing multi-coloured trees, wandering between ribbons of flashing beams, taking the most luminous two-kilometre stroll through nature that you can imagine — you'll be able to do all of this when Lightscape heads to Brisbane for the first time in 2023.

Already a hit in Melbourne and Sydney, the after-dark light festival will be taking over the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens from Thursday, August 31–Saturday, October 8, beaming away from 5.45pm each night as part of another dazzling Brisbane event: Brisbane Festival. While the leafy spot is already extremely scenic, and Brisbane's annual citywide cultural festival usually finds a way to make the most of it, saying that Lightscape will be brightening up both is quite the understatement.

Prepare to see the garden illuminated by immersive and large-scale installations scattered along that two-kilometre route, including sparkling trees, luminous walkways and bursts of colour that look like fireworks. A big highlight: large-scale works like giant flowers and glowing tunnels, both of which will make you feel like you're being bathed in radiance — and ample neon.

Lightscape first hit Australia in 2022 after first taking over gardens across the United Kingdom and the United States. Developed by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the UK, it's understandably proven a huge success — and more than two-million people wandered along its glowing trails in a season overseas.

Fingers crossed for pop-up food and drink stalls scattered throughout Lightscape in Brisbane — selling, we hope, mulled wine to keep hands warm as winter becomes early spring.

Lightscape sits on a Brisbane Festival bill that also includes Kate Miller-Heidke's new musical Bananaland and fellow stage show Tae Tae in the Land of Yaaas!, plus Riverfire to kick things off for the second year in a row, an attempt break the world record for a kazoo orchestra with mass-participation piece 10,000 Kazoos — and Paul Kelly, Gretta Ray, Groove Terminator with the Soweto Gospel Choir and a tribute to rock's Laurel Canyon era on its music lineup. And, there's more to come when the fest unveils its full lineup in early July.

Lightscape will light up the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens from Thursday, August 31–Saturday, October 8. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the Brisbane Festival website.