Blackpool Illuminations meets Oldham as Illuminate Festival returns for 2026

Oldham town centre will glow for three hours on Saturday 21 February as Illuminate Light Night marks its ninth year, turning streets and buildings into a free, open-air gallery of light, sound and movement. From 6pm to 9pm, residents can simply arrive, pick up a map and follow a fully-accessible trail of artworks made by local groups and visiting artists without paying a penny.

The evening starts with Dancing Threads, a parade led by The Dancing Diyas and Saddleworth Women's Morris and Clog. Setting off from the Civic Centre and ending at Old Town Hall, the procession carries giant puppets, live music and costumes that weave Oldham's heritage into every step. Along the route, Market Street hosts Sentinel, a sweeping light sculpture shaped like a protective wing, while Albion Street becomes the mythical Relic of Mirchwood Forest, an animated ecosystem projected onto...

Visitors can play a 3.5-metre, 108-bar musical sculpture called Illumaphonium, dance beneath a giant coloured mirrorball at Library Gardens, or step inside Oldham Parish Church for Eternal Ensemble, a repeated cello performance frozen in looping light. Parliament Square will display Love Oldham, a text piece co-created with Blackpool Illuminations that spells out local pride in bulbs and colour, while the Old Town Hall facade turns into a screen for a story of the Indian Roller Bird and the...

Pop-up characters, owls, hares and star bears will roam between 6.45pm and 9pm, and Gallery Oldham keeps its doors open for light-painting workshops, a free photo booth and four exhibitions including one celebrating 150 years of Oldham Rugby League. Council car parks offer three hours of free parking on the day, and the Bee Network will run extra late services to get everyone home.