Stockholm’s Nobel Week Lights Winter Festival

Nobel Week Lights is an annual light festival designed to include both local and international audiences in the Nobel Prize celebrations. By transforming Stockholm’s public spaces with light installations, the festival encourages citizens and visitors to rediscover the city’s architecture and streetscapes – especially during December, when daylight fades by mid-afternoon. The initiative turns the darkest time of the year into a hopeful shared cultural experience, free and accessible to all. 

Creating vibrant public life in winter darkness 

Hosting outdoor cultural events in Stockholm’s coldest and darkest month presents a challenge for urban planners and cultural organizers. The goal was to entice people outdoors into public spaces, despite the weather, to enjoy light installations in a safe, inclusive, and engaging environment. Installations are placed in close proximity to create an intuitive walking route, increasing audience flow and engagement. 

Launched as part of the Nobel Prize celebrations, the festival commissions light installations inspired by Nobel Prize-winning achievements. One of the recurring and most famous installations is a yearly large-scale projection on the City Hall. International and Swedish artists, designers, and students create works that illuminate the city and spark curiosity about science, innovation, and culture.  

In 2024, 16 light artworks were installed in the heart of Stockholm, with about half of the artists based in the city. Collaborations with universities, research institutes, and schools are a key part of the model. Notably, in 2024 students from a public school created a 26-meter-long installation inspired by Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin. 

Engaging audiences in Nobel Prize celebrations and achievements 

An important part of the festival is opening up and democratizing urban space. The festival’s artistic program is curated to be welcoming and diverse. Around sixty guided tours are offered in six languages, making the event accessible to a broad audience. To deepen participation, the festival also offers several public activities such as photo competitions, music performances, workshops, kayak tours, a fun run with lights, and a Lucia performance.   

The festival contributes to the attractiveness of Stockholm, and the artworks have a strong presence on social media platforms. In 2024, the festival was covered by traditional media in over 25 countries in 130 news publications. Nobel Week Lights is growing every year, and in 2024, over 1.7 million people experienced the light artworks. On average, 9 out of 10 local festival-goers were satisfied with their visit, and 81 percent of the local residents of Stockholm consider the festival to be an important event. 

For cultural policy, Nobel Week Lights demonstrates how temporary public art events can drive winter tourism, activate public space, and enhance a city’s global brand while fostering community pride.