Derry’s Lumiere Festival was viewed by 179,000 people according to figures released by its organisers.
Twice Upon a Time at Ebrington Square proved popular.
An estimated 45,000 people took to the streets last night – the final night – to view the spectacular light displays around the city – the most popular being in St Columb’s Park, Austins department store in The Diamond and Ebrington Square.
Festival organisers Artichoke said they were delighted with the success of the festival.
Conservative estimates suggest 179,000 visitors attended the festival over the four nights.
Queues on Saturday night stretched all the way down past Queens Quay and Airvag’s Symphonie Conique as thousands waited to cross the Peace Bridge to Ebrington, where Ocubo’s children’s fantasy tale Twice Upon a Time was projected onto the clock tower.
The biggest draw in the Waterside was Fire Garden by Compagnie Carabosse. Originally planned to run for just three of the four nights, the installation was extended to Sunday night due to popular demand after Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure Minister Caral Ni Chuilin provided the necessary extra funding.
On the cityside, Novak’s stunning animation Voyage for Austins drew applause from the crowd after each cycle.
While a full evaluation of the economic impact of the festival remains to be done, hotels were at 100% capacity on Friday and Saturday night, indicating high levels of overnight visitors.
Flights to and from the city were at a premium or completely sold out, and bars and restaurants were full of customers. Anecdotal evidence suggested that many shops were also busier than usual.
Artichoke’s co-director Helen Marriage said: “It has been a joy to see the fruit of all the hard work over the last eighteen months. The atmosphere in the city during the festival has been incredible.
“Producing an event with 17 separate art projects anywhere is an enormous challenge, and all the more so, when no-one quite knows what to expect. I think everyone has been surprised and delighted by the experience of rediscovering the city in this way.”
Ms Marriage said the people of Derry had embraced Lumiere “with open arms.”
She concluded: “Their response has far exceeded our expectations and we’ve loved every minute of it.”
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