Winter lights initiative launched across Dublin City

Dublin City Council has launched this year’s Christmas lighting throughout the city. This year’s event is called ‘Winter Lights Dublin City’, a new concept which will illuminate 13 different locations around Dublin, running throughout December until the 2^nd of January next year.

Landmark locations around the city will be lit up with festive projections between sunset and 2am each night until Wednesday, January 2nd.

The projections are now illuminating City Hall, Trinity College, Liberty Hall, Civic Offices, GPO, the Mansion House, Hugh Lane Gallery, the Customs House and the waste to energy plant in Poolbeg.  Enhanced Christmas lights are also on Samuel Beckett Bridge, Millennium Bridge, O’Connell Street and Parliament Street.

Lord Mayor of Dublin Nial Ring said: “My team of helpers have been working as hard as Santa’s elves to make the vision of ‘Winter Lights Dublin City’ a reality.

“Christmas is a wonderful, magical and enchanting time of year and the lighting of some of city’s great iconic buildings and structures will give everyone another reason to visit the city and view this exciting new seasonal experience.”

Alison King, head of the project, explained: “We chose the locations for a number of reasons, including to ensure an even geographical spread and to encourage locals and visitors to enjoy all parts of the city Ccentre.”

The lights are eco-friendly and will consume 80% less energy than traditional Christmas lights. Plans for one of the bridges calls for 15 million colour combinations with the whole installation using less electric power than a domestic iron or 10 household light bulbs.  157,800 low power LEDs, 100 tonnes of equipment and 15,780 metres of cable have been employed to illuminate the city in a whole new way for 2018.

King added: “When we refer to enhanced lighting, we are really talking about much more elaborate light decoration this year than we normally install, as those on the trees on O’Connell Street and Parliament Street.  With Samuel Beckett Bridge and Millennium Bridge, these are not only enhanced, but are brand new installations which, together with the building projections, are contributing to an overall more festive feel to the city.”King said the event can be expected to return in years to come: “We will review the success of Winter Lights in early 2019, but it is our intention that this will be a growing, yearly event.”