Full guide to River of Light as it returns to Liverpool for 2023

The River of Light opens to the public today, illuminating the city centre with beautiful artwork.

From Friday, October 27 to Sunday, November 5, the River of Light exhibition showcases art installations created by local, national and international artists. All of the artwork will follow the theme of 'United By Light' paying homage to the United By Music strapline - used when Liverpool hosted the Eurovision Song Contest.

These pictures, taken by ECHO photographer Iain Watts at a special preview on Thursday night, show what's in store for visitors. The 2km walking trail includes artworks which have never been displayed in the city before.

River of Light Liverpool 2023 map of route, dates and things to see

Get a free National Trust pass worth up to £50 for your family day out this autumn

The trail is self-guided with no need to book a ticket. The light installations will be switched on at 5pm and switched off at 9pm every evening.

Full list of the River of Light installations

Three of the twelve installations will have a nod to Eurovision.

United By Music - New York-based design firm Yellow Studio - founded by Julio Himede – will bring its 10-metre round, multi-purpose performance space to River of Light for its debut, paying tribute to the music of Eurovision 2023. The installation includes six songs from this year’s competition.

Ukrainian Dreams - This new commission will see the vivid and wildly imaginative works of Ukraine artists Tais Poda and RocknLight brought to life in an audio-visual installation. It will express the hope and pride of Ukraine through the work of Maria Prymacenko. Composer Dmytro Saratskyi has provided an original Ukrainian folk score to accompany the piece.

Our Beating Heart - Art and design