Curtain Comes Down On The Best Ever Sharjah Light Festival

The hugely successful fourth edition of the Sharjah Light Festival wrapped up on Friday night with twelve locations across the Emirate transforming Sharjah through stunning, vivid light displays and intricate video projections to the delight of thousands of visitors.

Celebrating the Emirate’s status as the Capital of Islamic Culture 2014, this year’s Festival evoked nostalgic aesthetics of traditional Islamic and Emirati culture, including antique-inspired cartography and calligraphy. People from across the UAE, GCC and Europe flocked to the Emirate during the nine-day period to enjoy Sharjah’s flagship cultural event, which has attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators over the last four years.

Marking the finale of the Festival, event organiser Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) hosted a spectacular closing ceremony at the Central Souk, attended by Chairman HE Mohamed Ali Al Noman and Director General HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa.

Friday night’s closing ceremony saw 11 international artists who were commissioned to participate in the project join the celebrations, along with event sponsors, partners and representatives from the SCTDA, as well as members of the media.

Speaking on the occasion, HE Mohamed Ali Al Noman said: “The Sharjah Light Festival this year was by far the best in the history of the event, with a wider range of sites, more visitors than ever before and, importantly, shows that were more captivating and pioneering in creativity.

“We are incredibly proud to be able to host this leading event for the people of Sharjah as well as the many visitors we welcome to the emirate. Since its launch in 2011 the event has quickly grown to become one of the region’s most prolific and anticipated cultural events, with significant international interest as well. The fourth edition of the Festival has been hugely important in further shaping Sharjah’s reputation as the region’s Culture Capital.”

With installations this year designed with Emirati culture in mind, the projections and displays brought new life to Sharjah’s exquisite architectural sites in a modern re-interpretation of beauty through technology.

Popular sites this year included the jaw-dropping ten minute video projection at the newly-built Sharjah City Municipality, with three evening shows per night attended by a capacity-sized audience of culturally curious tourists and residents.

Ilotopie’s fantastic water show, ‘Water Fools, also greeted a capacity-sized audience each night across the Festival, as well as sites at the Al Qasba area and Al Majaz corniche. From 7.30pm each day, thousands of people visited sites across the city and Sharjah’s East Coast to witness projections that delivered transformative experiences like never before.

“No corner of Sharjah was without light this year,” added His Excellency. “The past few days saw our city and picturesque East Coast area present a fascinating dialogue between Sharjah’s rich Islamic culture and European influenced artistry. The event also saw the latest in cutting-edge LED and video mapping technology highlight our history in a contrasting yet completely complementary way.

“As the sun sets on another impressive year, the SCTDA is looking ahead at next year’s Festival -– which will be our fifth anniversary -– to build on the incredible results of 2014. Our aim is to continue to deliver an exceptional event that will delight and amaze people from all walks of life,”His Excellency continued.

The SLF locations featured this year included the Sharjah City Municipality, the Central Souk, Al Qasba, Masjid Malek Faisal, Al Taqwa (Al Majaz) Mosque, Al Majaz Waterfront, Dr Sultan Al Qassimi Centre of Gulf Studies, Kuwait Square, Cultural Palace Square, Hamza Bin Abdul Mottaleb Mosque in Kalba, Sheikh Rashid Bin Ahmad Al Qassimi mosque in Dibba Al Hisn and Omar Bin Al Khattab Mosque in Khorfakkan.

Emirate:  Sharjah

Date: Feb 16, 2014

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