THE Royal Botanic Gardens are set to bring back a month of magical nights.
The award-winning Botanic Lights event will return to Edinburgh in October, after enjoying sell-out shows and over 23,000 visitors in 2014.
This year’s event will be bigger and more ambitious than ever before, with state-of-the-art technology that will delight both returning and new visitors.
It will focus around the theme of the changing of the seasons, creating a one-off night-time experience.
Grant Anderson, Lighting Designer said: “In Scotland, it’s often said that you can experience four seasons in one day.
“Visitors to Botanics Lights will be able to experience four seasons in just one night! It makes perfect sense to me to combine nature and light with seasonal changes as the three are inextricably linked.
“Visitors will notice distinct seasonal changes as they progress through the Botanic Lights journey, and experience the extremities of natural elements such as water, fire and ice.”
Currently working on the new show, organisers have hinted that some of design secrets this year will include:
· Interactive exhibits, generated by the public via app technology
· More state-of-the-art lighting effects
· Use of 3D projection to highlight some of the Botanics’ buildings and plants
· Laser Lumia effects to bring the natural world alive at night
· Using social media to control their very environment
Tickets for Botanic Lights 2015 are now on-sale and due to the popularity of the 2014 event, audiences are advised to book early to avoid disappointment.
Heather Jackson, Director of Enterprise at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh said: “Botanic Lights was quite literally a leap in the dark for us last year but our visitors came along in their thousands to enjoy the Garden at night.
“We can’t wait to share with our visitors the work that’s going into creating this year’s magical event.
With a backdrop like the Botanics, an inspiring interpretation of nature’s seasons, and this year the opportunity to interact with light installations, we are sure that visitors will be enchanted once again.”
2014 was the first time the Garden opened to visitors at night for an outdoor light experience and over 23,000 visitors flocked to see ‘Botanic Lights: A Night in the Garden’ – a unique display combining light, sound and nature.
Those night-time visitors, plus the regular day visitors, made November 2014 the busiest the Botanics has ever had since records began. The event, which was part of Homecoming Scotland, attracted visitors from far and wide and was popular across all age groups.
