THE tourist capital of the north has been transformed into a city of light – becoming a dazzling spectacle of colour after the sun goes down.

With the nights now fast drawing in, York is fighting back against the dark and turning its evenings into a celebration of all things bright and multi-hued.

The Illuminating York Festival is now in its tenth year and until October 31 parts of the historic city will be artfully drenched in all the colours of the rainbow.

The Festival was originally one of the first of its kind in the UK and it continues to pursue new ways of showing the city in a new light.

Inspired by the UNESCO International Year of Light, the 2015 festival celebrates light in all of its forms, from the flickering flame candle to the light emitting diode.

For the first time, the festival has been programmed by two artistic curators who have selected a series of artworks.

Hazel Colquhoun and Andrew Knight have also conceived a promenade with installations created by five sets of artists along the route, culminating in the Museum Gardens which have become a riot of night-time colour.

The Illuminati Botanica is the only ticketed part of the festival and uses sound and light to celebrate the natural world.

A shower of light will be found in Shambles and a cloud-like light sculpture hangs above the passageway leading to the Guildhall while St Michael le Belfrey church presents the digital image of a candle flame to mark the passing of time.

Specially selected lamps in shop and business windows also feature along the route between the artworks.

The festival has been aimed at allowing people to experience the magical properties of light and be moved by what the illuminations reveal.

It can be experienced in any order and is designed for visitors to be able to jump in and out of the trail, over one evening or across the duration of the festival.

For more information call 01904-550099 or visit visityork.org or http://illuminatingyork.org.uk/