The annual fortnight of lighting displays is back at Canary Wharf, and hugely popular as ever.
The first hint that this might be pulling in the crowds when on a normally fairly quiet weekend evening, Canary Wharf tube station looks like the morning rush hour.
Free fun always attracts the visitors.
Fortunately, with a large estate to scatter the glowing art around, the crowds quickly thin out, and make the whole thing more enjoyable for the claustrophobic.
The biggest thing to notice though is a simple thing – fun. People are having fun. No sombre contemplation on the meaning of art, just look, point, selfie, laugh, enjoy. Kids very much enjoying, but there’s a wide range of displays to look at.
A pulsating ring at Westferry has everyone wanting to get the perfect photo of Canary Wharf in the background. But nearby was to my mind, the best – dancing lights to music that generated the most gasps of wow from the evening.
The foam display was less visually exciting than most, but got the most attention, because, well, throwing foam around. One seemed to have a long queue simply because only one person can go inside at a time, whereas people wandered around the glowing trees at will.
It’s a wonderful display, and free to visit until the end of this week.
Staff hand out free maps of the art work, or you can download them from their website in advance.
I thought it was a poorer display than previous years, and I miss going in the Crossrail station for stuff. But the foam was a lot of fun on windy Friday.