Nottingham Light Night 2025

This Friday and Saturday saw the return of Nottingham Light Night for its 17th year. Usually it’s at the beginning of February and I’m not quite sure why the dates moved so much, but of course this did mean that it was still quite light when I visited some of these places. I never do everything on offer as there is simply too many places to visit so this is just a highlight – Light Night is a two day event and finishes tonight (1 March).

One thing I definitely wanted to visit was the inflatable animals in the Green Heart near Nottingham Central Library. I will say that the placing of them could have been better – one is right in front of a lamp post – and while I understand the need for barriers, making them part of the display might have been better.

One fun new thing this year was that local businesses, large and small, had been given rubber ducks to decorate and put in their windows so there was an extra trail you could do to find them all. I didn’t hunt all of them down as some were quite a way out from where I was intending to go but it was a fun way of showcasing the event and each one had been given a name by the people who decorated it. The duck theme and Ay Up cards come from “ay up duck” a typical Nottingham greeting.

I particularly liked Elpha Duck, complete with Emerald City and Yellow Brick Road…

…Mystic Mallard…

…Quacky-doo…

…Lucy and Quack…

…Michael Quackson…

and Seymour Clearly, from an opticians, just for the name!

I also stopped to watch Primal Future, a projection displayed on to the Council House. It was interesting, though I’m not sure totally my thing – with dance performances, an electronic soundtrack and apparently cutting edge technology. It was a collaboration from Tom Dale Company and Vent Media in partnership with Nottingham Trent University and University of Nottingham.

It was, as ever, really busy with market stalls also set up next to the Market Square selling food etc and some of the local businesses do special Light Night discounts as well. Everything is of course free to attend. A lovely night out for all ages.