Canary Wharf Winter Lights 2026
Canary Wharf Winter Lights is back for its 10th edition and this year’s theme is DREAMSCAPE.
@urbanadventurerldn Canary Wharf Winter Lights is back for its 10th year ✨ @Canary Wharf This year’s themes is DREAMSCAPE 📆 20 – 31 January 2026 🕰️ 5pm – 10pm #canarywharf #canarywharflondon #winterlights #CapCut
Canary Wharf Winter Lights – DREAMSCAPE
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Light up those January blues with mesmerising illuminating installations that look like they were straight out from a dream world.
Canary Wharf Winter Lights is back for 2026 and it’s celebrating its 10th year.
Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival started in 2015 with a few small installations but thanks to the artists and the audience’s commitment to art and culture, the festival soon became one of the most established light festivals in the UK.
Over the years, more than 160 installations were on display and some of them have been purchased to become a permanent piece of Canary Wharf’s collection.
To mark the anniversary, this year has a special theme, called DREAMSCAPE. There are 16 large-scale installations scattered around Canary Wharf for locals and tourists to discover.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
An extremely limited-edition A3 poster is also available to purchase in-store at Circle Collective. The print is designed by Anna Lomax and only 500 are available.
DREAMSCAPE invites visitors for a surreal journey to a dream world where you will travel through our solar system, step into another dimension through an ‘Un-Reel Access’, summon spirits and enter a light sanctuary to enjoy a shooting soundscape, atmospheric lights and beautiful colours.
The installations are scattered all around Canary Wharf, so it takes around 2-3 hours to find each and take photos.
Highlights of Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival 2026
If you cannot visit all the installations for any reason, here’s a list of the must-visit highlights:
Sol by Artistic Latvia / Janis Petersons (Latvia)
Photo: Urban Adventurer
What if the planets of our solar system could rest in our garden?
Photo: Urban Adventurer
That’s exactly what happened at Crossrail Place Rooftop Garden. The planets descended from the sky to nest among the flower beds and float above the treetops.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Venues, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Mercury, Earth and our Moon represent love, courage, wisdom and light and they’re here for a truly awe-inspiring experience.
Blueprint by Studio Vertigo (UK)
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Blueprint is inspired by the DNA double helix that holds the blueprint of life.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Blueprint is more than just an installation. The artists used real genetic data from research into the TLR7 gene by Professor Christian Hedrich’s team and translated that into light and sound. In this way normally invisible biological structures can be seen and heard.
In Bloom by Kumqat Lab (UK)
Photo: Urban Adventurer
In Bloom is a plant shaped structure inspired by flower pollination.
Visitors are encouraged to touch the sensor on the spheres to activate the flowers and enjoy a beautiful dance of vibrant colours and musical notes.
Visitors can create their own unique melody together through a playful interactivity.
Trispheric Garden by REELIZE.STUDIO (Australia)
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Trispheric Garden is six illuminated pyramid obelisks placed around Cabot Square’s fountain.
The mirror-like orbs each obelisk houses reflect the light casting ethereal patterns on the water’s surface. The installation explores the tension between geometry and fluidity.
Un-Reel Access by KAPPA / Patrick and Kaori Jones (UK / Japan)
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Un-Reel Access is a mysterious locked door in front of a wall. Shimmering white light shines around it, while the lower corner of the door curls up.
The door looks like a portal to another dimension making visitors wonder what lies beyond.
Amplitudes by Limbic Cinema (UK)
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Amplitudes is a large scale water-screen projection. Animated waveforms are projected to airborne water particles that shift and move with the wind.
The dream-like visuals are synced with relaxing music offering quiet, calm moments for visitors to lose themselves in the otherworldly dance of colours and forms.
Practical Info
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Address
Canary Wharf | Nearest station, Canary Wharf Station. Elisabeth and Jubilee line.
Opening Times
20 – 31 January 2026
Open daily from 5pm – 10pm
Tickets
FREE, no booking required. Simply show up and enjoy.
NOTE: Weekends tend to be extremely busy. Try to visit on weekdays if you can.
Ready for your next adventure? You have the chance to appear on Piccadilly Circus’s iconic screen! Piccadilly Lights is a pop-up experience right under the famous Piccadilly advertising screens. You can create your own digital portrait, draw graffiti with light and interact with large-scale installations.
