An elephant, a giant sun and flickering fireflies were just some of the installations experienced at the festival.

175,000 people came to the third Lumiere Durham, exploring 27 light installations across the city. There were installations large and small, playful and poignant. This was the year of Elephantastic, a huge, video-mapped projection that trumpeted and stomped on Elvet Bridge, and of Rafael Lozano Hemmer’s giant replica of the sun, Solar Equation that hovered above Durham University’s Science site.

Celebrating the heritage of Durham Miners Hall, Groupe LAPS’ LED stick men Keyframes, rose up from a pile of smouldering coal to dance around the building.

Nathan Coley’s large-scale letters, spelling out A Place Beyond Belief in light bulbs were originally taken from the testimony of a New York resident in the wake of 9/11. Leading audiences up Saddler Street to Durham Cathedral the phrase took on a whole new meaning.

Winners of the BRILLIANT competition, where people from the North East are invited to apply with ideas for a light work, were again popular additions to the programme. Sarah Blood’s neon bird boxes Sanctuary filled St Oswald’s Churchyard with birdsong; Twist Design’s Stained Glass Cars gave a new lease of life to three Robin Reliants and Beth J. Ross’ handwritten neon lettering I Haven’t Changed my Mind in 1000 Years showed the continuing relevance of 11^th century proverbs.

Atsara’s [M]ondes filled the inside of Durham Cathedral with delicate fire-fly like projections that spun and darted through the darkness.

Over four evenings, audiences enjoyed these installations and many more, once again braving the cold night to enjoy a sprinkling of Artichoke winter magic.