HUNDREDS of people have queued for free tickets for the ever popular Lumiere festival.

Lines for the tickets stretched from the Gala Theatre in Durham city centre after they were made available on Tuesday.

They allow access to the peninsula area of the city and are aimed at reducing congestion between the peak times of 4.30pm and 7.30pm each day.

Helen Marriage, chief executive officer of Artichoke and Lumiere’s artistic director, said: “We’re delighted with the public response to Lumiere and the overwhelming demand for peak hour tickets.

“Remember you don’t need a ticket to visit the festival.

“Over half the festival installations are outside the ticketed area and you don’t need a ticket at any time to visit these.

“Everyone can visit the festival without a ticket outside peak hours.”

Highlights of this year’s festival, revealed earlier this week, include a tornado, a flash mob of brightly coloured umbrellas and thousands of illuminated flowers.

Lumiere, the UK’s largest light festival, takes place from Thursday, November 16 to Sunday, November 19, and has attracted artists from all over the world with 29 captivating installations.

Some of the pieces involve transforming well-known landmarks while others will encourage people to get involved with the art.

Festival organisers have tried to reduce congestion in central areas this year by having it spread out further.

For more information about the festival and how to get tickets visit:

www.durham.gov.uk/lumiere