Record attendance at anniversary edition of Spotlight Festival in Bucharest

More than 320,000 people attended the tenth edition of Spotlight – International Light Festival, held between October 9 and 11, 2026, in downtown Bucharest.

During the event, building façades became surfaces for video mapping shows, while urban spaces hosted immersive installations and light sculptures. PLAYGROUND, the theme of the anniversary edition, proposed a playful relationship between people, light, and urban space.

This year’s edition also involved a major technical and logistical operation. Preparing the festival required seven days of installation work, the involvement of 20 technicians, the installation of more than three kilometers of cables and optical fiber, the use of 20 laser video projectors, and more than 200 light sources.

The Spotlight experience extended beyond the festival’s main route through installations presented at Promenada Mall, Mega Mall, and ARCUB – Hanul Gabroveni.

The anniversary edition of Spotlight also had an important international dimension. For the first time, Bucharest hosted the annual meeting of the International Light Festivals Organisation (ILO), an organization bringing together light festivals and professionals in the field from around the world.

The event brought directors and representatives of international festivals, artists, and light art specialists to ARCUB – Hanul Gabroveni, strengthening Bucharest’s role in the international dialogue on art, technology, and the creative use of public space.

At the same time, the second edition of Spotlight Talks, held on October 10 and 11 under the theme “Light, Art & the City,” gave the public access to presentations, debates, and meetings with artists and professionals in the field of light art.

The program included discussions on the role of light festivals in transforming cities, the relationship between art and the public, women’s perspectives in light art, and the creative processes behind multimedia projects. Artists and studios from Romania, France, and the United Kingdom presented projects and artistic approaches in an open dialogue with the public and the local creative community.

The anniversary edition also marked the end of the 2026 season of the “Străzi Deschise – București” (“Open Streets – Bucharest”) project, with both events contributing to transforming Calea Victoriei into a space dedicated to culture, social interaction, and urban exploration.