Have you seen what has been going on with London’s bridges?

llluminated River is a long-term art installation on an unprecedented scale; a scheme to light up central London’s bridges and transform nocturnal views of the city. An orchestrated series of light works that evolve at the stately pace of the river itself, Illuminated River draws inspiration from the spirit and history of the River Thames and celebrates the diverse communities that live along its banks.

llluminated River’s subtly moving sequences of LED light reveal the beauty of the existing architecture of London’s bridges and their relationship to the river that flows beneath them.

The project is being designed and programmed by New York-based artist Leo Villareal, working with architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands. More details about it can be found here.

Phase 1 was launched in Spring 2019 and took in four bridges: Millennium, Southwark, Cannon Street Railway and London Bridge. For this, Illuminated River commissioned City of London Guides to run guided walks along the north bank and a number of Footprints Guides were part of the team that delivered this.

Work is under way to extend the project westwards with a further five bridges due to be illuminated in Spring 2021. These are Blackfriars, Waterloo, Golden Jubilee, Westminster and Lambeth Bridges. There are plans for a guided walk in the area of these Phase 2 bridges.

In the meantime, Illuminated River has just launched a free audio guide which covers the Phase 1 bridges from the south side of the river. The guide has been written and narrated by our very own Stephen Benton. Click here to download the guide.