Milan will host the Festival of Light

The beginning of the winter season in Italy promises a lot of light. From December 4, 2010 to January 10, 2011 in Milan will be held LED international festival of light (Light Exhibition Design 2010) (It. Festival Internazionale della Luce 2010). The city will be decorated with 60 installations performed by both young artists and professionals in the field of lighting design. The festival will be organized on the Milan streets and squares and in the parks. In Russia the event is presented by the international online journal Néo.

Among the participants of the festival are 10 Lighting Designers of worldwide reputation: among them are Karim Rashid, Gilbert Mouati and Matteo Thun. The opening ceremony will be held on December 2 in Milan's fashion quarter (It. Quadrilatero della moda). Boutiques on Via Montenapoleone - the main artery of the quarter - will be opened until 22.00. In the evening of December 4 the windows of the Milan Duomo will be illumined by bright light: the sponsor of electric illumination of the cathedral is the city’s Energy Service Company AEM (It. Azienda Elettrica Municipale di Milano).

LED International Festival of Light is held in Milan for the second year. The venue wasn’t chosen by chance: once Milan became the first city in Europe, where gas lamps were replaced with electric ones. Today the city implements the most modern lighting technologies and alternative resource-saving lighting.

In addition to light works performed by famous designers with the support of city administration, the festival program includes LED Satellite and LED award. LED Satellite was organized by major companies in the world of lighting. LED Award competition is created for young designers and will run until May 2011. At the LED Award will be selected 30 winners who will receive funding for their projects from the companies sponsoring the event. The finalists will also have an opportunity to work in a team with leading experts in the field of lighting design and communicate with representatives of companies of worldwide reputation.

According to the NEO Magazine press release.