Festival organisers Artichoke are delighted with the spectacular success of the festival, which has transformed the UK City of Culture 2013 into a giant outdoor art gallery.
An estimated 179,000 visitors have attended the festival over the four nights. Queues on Saturday night stretched all the way down past Queens Quay and Airvag's Symphonie Conique as thousands waited to cross the Peace Bridge to Ebrington, where Ocubo's children's fantasy tale Twice Upon a Time was projected onto the clock tower.
The biggest draw on the Waterside was Fire Garden by Compagnie Carabosse. Originally planned to run for just three of the four nights, the installation was extended to Sunday night due to popular demand.
On the city side, Novak's stunning animation Voyage for Austins Department Store in the Diamond drew applause from the crowd after each cycle. Hundreds walked the Walls to see The Empty Plinth, a powerful beam of light projecting skywards, and Neon Dogs in the Walker Courtyard.
A Stitch in Time, the giant steel and LED light sculpture by Tim Etchells on the roof of the Rosemount Shirt Factory was visible from many points across the cityscape.
With 17 separate installations to visit in locations all over the city, festival-goers explored and re-discovered Derry~Londonderry. Visible from the walls, Cleary-Connolly's interactive Change Your Stripes in the Bogside took on different shapes and forms as people of all ages ran and danced in front of it.
While a full evaluation of the economic impact of the festival remains to be done, hotels were at 100% capacity on Friday and Saturday night, indicating high levels of overnight visitors. Flights to and from the city were at a premium or completely sold out, and bars and restaurants were full of customers. Anecdotal evidence suggested that many shops were also busier than usual.
Artichoke's co-director Helen Marriage said, "Producing Lumiere Derry Londonderry has been an extraordinary experience."It has been a joy to see the fruit of all the hard work over the last eighteen months. The atmosphere in the city during the festival has been incredible.
"Producing an event with seventeen separate art projects anywhere is an enormous challenge, and all the more so, when no-one quite knows what to expect. I think everyone has been surprised and delighted by the experience of rediscovering the city in this way.
"The people of Derry Londonderry have embraced Lumiere with open arms. Their response has far exceeded our expectations and we've loved every minute of it."
(Jim Evans)
