I got a sneak peek at Sunderland's Festival of Light, here's what I thought

The annual event has returned to Mowbray Park for 2024, and the Echo was invited along for a sneak preview.

Mowbray has been home to the festival since refurbishment work at its previous location in Roker Park required what was initially cast as a temporary relocation.

But with the event’s new home requiring no inconvenient road closures and with the move providing a significant boost to Sunderland’s burgeoning city centre economy, the decision was taken to keep the festival of Light where it is.

So how does this year hold up to previous?

I’m still not sure Mowbray makes quite as good a location as Roker - the seafront park’s layout means displays emerge organically as you turn make your way along the twisting pathways, where as Mowbray is a lot more open plan, with less of the pleasant element of surprise that Roker offers.

On the other hand, as our visit with students from the city’s special needs and disabilities schools made obvious, Mowbray is significantly more accessible for those with limited mobility than Roker would be, with none of the steep paths that can make it a challenge for anyone with limited mobility.

As for the displays, there’s seems a little more ambition on show that last year, with not one but two moving projections, one of the side of the museum and one among the trees at the south end of the park.

There’s a silent disco, entered through a fab pair of illuminated headphones and complete with disco ball in the bandstand throwing rays of silver light across the ‘dancefloor’.

The disco’s former home on the bowling green is now home to a massive dome covered with dozens of flashing lights, creating surreal, whirling patterns inside when the you stand inside.

Moving the festival to Mowbray offers distinct economic advantages, too. With the clocks going back at the weekend, it’s now pretty much fully dark by 5pm.

That means it’s perfectly possible, especially during this week’s half-term, to enjoy the show and still be out early enough to make the most of the city centre’s increasingly good range of pubs, restaurants and bars.

Tickets cost £5 each and must be bought online in advance. They can't be bought at the gate. Children under two are free.

For more information tickets and to buy tickets for the Festival of Light, visit:www.mysunderland.co.uk/fol