Édition 2026
See you from 22 to 25 January 2026
The 2026 edition will take place over four winter evenings. It will be free and open to everyone, young and old, curious and passionate alike. The illuminated trail stretches for nearly three kilometres through the heart of the historic centre, inviting visitors to take an immersive stroll between heritage and contemporary creation.
As you pass through the installations, the city reveals itself in a different light: familiar places are transformed, perspectives open up, and architectural details are revealed in a new light.
The trail begins at Place Léopold, at the foot of Mons station. Transformed into a welcoming space, the square will serve as an immersive gateway, immediately plunging you into the atmosphere of the festival.
Let the adventure begin!
Entering the light, a need to illuminate the world: the theme for Mons en Lumières 2026
Every year, Mons en Lumières offers an extraordinary experience combining art, technology and emotion. In January 2026, Wallonia’s largest light festival returns with a theme that is as poetic as it is powerful: ‘Entering the light. A need to illuminate the world.’
This choice resonates like an invitation. To cross a threshold. To leave the darkness behind in order to better perceive what surrounds us. To symbolically rekindle the flame that illuminates our imagination.
© Studio Lemercier (Juliette Bibasse et Joanie Lemercier)
avec Before Tigers
© Magicstreet
A universal and sensory theme
From the first sparks of fire to the era of LEDs and fibre optics, light has accompanied human history. It heals, guides and inspires. It is at once a scientific tool, an energy resource, an artistic medium and a metaphor for knowledge and consciousness.
The 2026 theme invites artists to explore this plurality: physical light, symbolic light, inner light.
How can it be represented, fragmented, made to vibrate in urban space? How can we express our need, perhaps more than ever, to see clearly – in our cities as in our lives?
Download our interactive brochure and explore the full route of the light festival!
