ORGANISERS of Lumiere have said the largest light festival in the country attracted a record-breaking 240,000 people this year.

The fifth edition of the popular four-day spectacular in Durham drew to a close late on Sunday night.

Since its inception in 2009, Lumiere has transformed the city into a nocturnal art gallery every two years.

  • An eight-page supplement will appear in Tuesday's The Northern Echo celebrating Lumiere 2017

This year 29 artworks and installations created an illuminated trail in and around the historic peninsular.

Helen Marriage, chief executive of Artichoke, organisers of the festival, said: “Of course some pieces appealed to some more than others, but with 29 separate installations, I think Lumiere offered something for everyone.

“We couldn’t do this without the support of all our wonderful funders and sponsors, and I can’t say thank you enough to them for making Lumiere possible.”

Firm festival favourites included For The Birds in Durham University’s Botanic Garden, an enchanting collection of more than 20 light and sound installations inspired by birdlife, What Matters a mesmerising installation of over 2,000 pieces of hand blown glass in St Oswald's Church and Frequencies, which illuminated the trees and foliage along the riverside.

This year there were works from leading international artists including Dutch artist Ralf Westerhof whose delicately-made wire sculpture Drawn in Light hung over the River Wear and Methods by Spanish artist Pablo Valbuena who in his first UK commission transformed the interior and exterior of Durham’s world famous Cathedral.

Led by Durham Cathedral’s Bell Major, Christopher Crabtree, 60 bell-ringers from the North-East and beyond performed live for six hours each night of the festival.

Councillor Simon Henig, leader of Durham County Council, said: “I am delighted that, as always, the public have shown their huge affection for this event by turning out in the tens of thousands to enjoy the 29 artworks that have illuminated Durham City in new and exciting ways.”