00:00Liverpool's waterfront has been transformed into a night-time playground as River of Light
00:06returns to the city's streets.
00:07The theme for this year's Outdoor Trial and Engagement programme is Plight, tying in to
00:12Liverpool's ongoing pledge to become a recognised UNICEF UK child-friendly city.
00:16I love River of Light and people love River of Light as well.
00:21It's great for local businesses, it's great for the local economy, I think it was four
00:24million last year, but more importantly it is just joyous and people love engaging and
00:31coming down to the waterfront, you know, actually we do appreciate sometimes that not everyone
00:37across the city comes into the city as often and so just to come in, explore, remember
00:42how beautiful the waterfront is, but also to see these amazing installations is just
00:47incredible.
00:48Local illustrator Liz Harry has been working with the Invisible Wind factory to bring her
00:52art installation to life.
00:54The piece is called Positive Spin and it's a crossover between a fruit machine and tarot
01:00cards, it's drawing on both influences visually, but the piece itself and the message that
01:06we're trying to give is that lots of people are really struggling with their mental health
01:11and possibly their future outlook.
01:13So the idea is you go and you get a random prediction that is left to your interpretation,
01:19because it's so bright and colourful and the music is also positive and uplifting, the
01:24hope is that you walk away with a positive outlook for your future.
01:29Rangoli Mirrored Cosmos has been created by British Sri Lankan artist Maura Gaia.
01:34This 3D sculpture is a celebration of Diwali's Festival of Light, featuring bright patterns
01:38traditionally painted in the entrance of homes to signify luck, positivity and happiness.
01:43It's designed to be very welcoming and open and it's a calming sculpture, you're meant
01:50to kind of congregate around it and contemplate if you will, or you can run around it, climb
01:58up it and play on it.
01:59It's very open in that way and that's exactly what the River of Light represents, they represent
02:04sculptures that are interactive and playful, so the theme of play this year fitted perfectly
02:10for this sculpture.
02:11The trail is holding a number of special quiet hour sessions to ensure the event is
02:15even more accessible to visitors.
02:17During the quiet hour sessions, all artworks will be run with either no soundscape or at
02:21a very low volume and where possible, lighting will be altered, making it a gentler, more
02:26accessible environment for people with sensory differences.
02:29It's such a shame that we reach a certain age and we seem to think we have to fall into
02:33this stereotype of responsibility and dress a certain way.
02:38We have all these expectations on us as adults and I think this is a really nice reminder
02:43that it's something that everybody can access and should access because we all need a little
02:49bit of positivity and to be happy and experience joy.
02:54This year's Light Festival runs until Tuesday 5th November.
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