70,000 snap up festival tickets
More than 70,000 people have snapped up tickets for the Festival of Light, selling out this year’s light show spectacular. The annual attraction moved back to Roker Park this year, for the first time since 2018, where it’s proved a hit selling 79,200 tickets.
Opening on October 14, and open Thursdays to Sundays only, the festival is running until Sunday, November 14 – but tickets are now all sold out. Each night has had an allocation of 3,600 tickets per night, priced £3, across different access times so that the park doesn’t become too crowded, and demand has been huge. Cllr Linda Williams, cabinet member for Vibrant City at Sunderland City Council, said: “It’s great that this year’s Festival of Light has been such a sell-out success. It clearly demonstrates that there is an appetite for this kind of event and it’s been lovely to see so many people having a wonderful time after everything that’s happened over the last 19 months.
"Although tickets for the Festival of Light in Roker Park have sold out, you don’t need to ticket to enjoy the dazzling display of lights that form the much-loved Sunderland Illuminations along the seafront. Families can still enjoy the family funfair or the Observation Wheel at Cliffe Park, so there’s still plenty of things for people to do.”
This year’s festival features some favourites, such as the famous Roker Park tap in light form, as well as some new additions.
Other light shows taking place across the region include Lumiere, which returns next month including, for the first time, an installation at Penshaw Monument.