Ghent is organising a light festival for the sixth time this year. The festival starts on Wednesday 31 January and will run till Sunday 4 February.
Ghent hopes to attract 800,000 visitors to the festival that includes 32 art installations. Half of all artists have a clear link to the city of Ghent.
This year the focus is on innovation including AI, augmented reality and drones. Visitors are even able to dispatch a message into space. Click here to discover the full programme of events.
For the first time the light festival with include the city ring road and the roads near Dampoort station. The city authorities are asking drivers to avoid the Dampoort between 5:30 PM (4:30 PM on Sunday) and 1AM when the festival is in fill swing as the entire route is traffic-free. Cyclists and mopeds are also banned from the route.
Alderman Bram Van Braeckevelt (green) notes that the festival may lead to congestion now the ring road is being included for a first time and advises drivers to use the R4 instead.