Festival of Lights

What Festival of Lights does

Festival of Lights (legal entity: FOL Festival of Lights International Productions GmbH) is a privately held Berlin-based event production company that organizes an annual free public light art festival across Berlin's most iconic landmarks, including the Brandenburg Gate, Fernsehturm, and Berlin Cathedral. Founded in 2005 and led by founder, CEO, and creative director Birgit Zander, the 22nd edition is scheduled for October 9-18, 2026 under the theme 'Colours of Love.' The core product is the festival experience itself, comprising projected illuminations, light sculptures, and a musical/cultural programming layer, with supporting infrastructure including a mobile application for navigation and e-paper program materials.

The technology stack is non-software: the festival's proprietary capability is the design and projection of large-scale illumination and mapping onto architectural landmarks, protected by the registered FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS® trademark and copyrights on individual light objects. Production involves international artists (drawn from five countries in the Zagreb edition) and on-site coordination with municipal and venue stakeholders.

The business model is predominantly B2B sponsorship-driven despite the consumer-facing free format. Revenue is generated through premium brand partnerships (Armani Beauty, Universal, Pandora, Paramount, Disney, Visit Berlin), a formal hotel partner program (Hotel Partner*innen 2026), commercial licensing of festival photography beyond private/editorial use, and an international franchise/licensing layer via Festival of Lights on Tour (deployed in Zagreb with the Zagreb Tourist Board). The company does not sell tickets and operates with an 11-50 headcount.

Name

Festival of Lights

Legal name

FOL Festival of Lights International Productions GmbH

Website

https://festival-of-lights.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Festival of Lights is a Berlin-based event production company that organizes an annual, free public light art festival illuminating the city's landmarks, funded through premium brand sponsorships, hotel partnerships, photo licensing, and international franchise tours.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Light Art Festival & Cultural Event Production

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural & Community Festivals (Ticketed) (THAJAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG)

Keywords

• Light art festival
• Event production services
• Landmark illumination
• Cultural tourism events
• Brand sponsorship experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brand Partnerships and Sponsorship: The festival generates revenue through premium brand partnerships with companies including Armani Beauty, Universal, Pandora, Paramount, Disney, and others who sponsor the event in exchange for brand visibility and association with the festival.
2. Photo Licensing: Commercial licensing of festival photographs and light art installations for professional and commercial use beyond private and editorial purposes.
3. Festival of Lights on Tour: International expansion through the 'Festival of Lights on Tour' program, hosting events in other cities and countries including Zagreb, Croatia.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Festival of Lights organizes and produces an annual free public light art festival in Berlin each autumn, transforming the city's monuments, landmarks, and public spaces into illuminated installations accompanied by music and cultural programming. Beyond the Berlin flagship event, the company licenses its 'Festival of Lights on Tour' concept to international host cities and earns revenue through premium brand sponsorships and commercial photo licensing.

Product overview

Festival of Lights is a single unified event product — an annual light art festival in Berlin. The offering consists of the core festival event featuring illuminated installations across city landmarks, complemented by a supporting cultural program. The event is free to attend and showcases works by international light artists. The festival has been running since 2005 and is organized by FOL Festival of Lights International Productions GmbH, led by Birgit Zander.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FOL-Award: An award component of the Festival of Lights event recognizing excellence in light art installations.
• Festival of Lights on Tour

Products and services

• Festival of Lights Berlin (Annual Flagship Light Art Festival) Annual free public light art festival in Berlin since 2005, transforming city monuments, buildings, and public spaces into illuminated art installations paired with music and cultural storytelling. Aimed at the general public and tourists visiting Berlin.
• Festival of Lights on Tour (International Licensing Program) Licensed international version of the Festival of Lights concept, delivered to host cities and their tourism boards. Aimed at city tourism boards and destination marketing organizations seeking a turnkey light festival product.
• Festival of Lights Brand Shop Online shop selling official Festival of Lights branded merchandise and products to the general public and visitors.
• Commercial Photo Licensing Commercial licensing of festival photographs and light art installation imagery for professional and commercial use beyond private and editorial purposes. Aimed at media, brand, and commercial users; all festival light objects are protected by copyright.

Quantifiable outcome

• Forbes recognition as one of Europe's best events

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered premium partner, core and partner.

• Armani Beautypremium partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerPremium brand partner for the Festival of Lights. Displayed prominently in partner logos section alongside other premium sponsors.
• Universalpremium partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerPremium brand partner for the Festival of Lights. Listed among premium partners in the partner section.
• Pandorapremium partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerPremium brand partner for the Festival of Lights. Listed among premium partners in the partner section.
• Paramountpremium partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerPremium brand partner for the Festival of Lights. Listed among premium partners in the partner section.
• Disneypremium partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerPremium brand partner for the Festival of Lights. Listed among premium partners in the partner section.
• Zagreb Tourist BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFestival of Lights Zagreb 2026 is organized by the Zagreb Tourist Board. This is an example of the 'Festival of Lights on Tour' program where the brand is licensed to international host cities. The Zagreb edition features 26 light installations across 21 locations.
• Visit Berlinpremium partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial Berlin tourism partner. Listed among premium partners supporting the festival.
• Hotel PartnerspartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerNetwork of hotel partners in Berlin that collaborate with the festival. Dedicated page for Hotel Partner 2026 program.
• International Artists (5 Countries)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFestival showcases works by international artists from five countries, demonstrating the collaborative nature of the light art installations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fête des Lumières (Lyon): A world-renowned city-wide light festival transforming Lyon's landmarks with illuminations, directly comparable to FOL Berlin in scale, format and landmark-illumination approach.
• Amsterdam Light Festival: An annual outdoor light-art festival illuminating a major European city with international artists' installations, mirroring FOL's format, cultural positioning and tourism-driven model.
• Signal Festival Prague: A large annual light-art and projection festival across Prague landmarks, directly comparable in format, audience and sponsorship-driven funding to FOL Berlin.
• Lumiere (Artichoke Trust): Artichoke produces the UK's Lumiere light festivals, curating international light-art installations across city landmarks — a direct analog to FOL as a light-festival producer.
• Vivid Sydney: A large-scale festival of light, music and ideas that illuminates iconic city landmarks and draws sponsors and tourists, closely paralleling FOL's light-art and brand-partnership model.

Regional players

• GLOW Eindhoven: An annual light-art festival routing installations through a Dutch city, comparable to FOL in concept and free public-event model but focused on the Netherlands.
• i Light Singapore: A sustainability-themed festival of light illuminating the Marina Bay precinct, comparable in light-art format and tourism draw but serving the Asian market.
• LUX Helsinki: A free public light festival illuminating Helsinki's urban landmarks each winter; same category and model as FOL but serving a different geography.

Emerging players

• Winter Lights (Canary Wharf): A free outdoor light-art installation festival in a defined urban district, overlapping with FOL's free, sponsor-supported public light-experience model at smaller scale.

Others

• Blachère Illumination: A supplier of decorative and festive lighting and illumination installations for cities and events; an enabling ecosystem player adjacent to festival organizers like FOL rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/berlinfestivaloflights
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCOdJbp9W1rK1vAL3iKLptrg
• Facebookfacebook.com/FestivalOfLights
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/festival-of-lights
• Instagraminstagram.com/berlinfestivaloflights
• TikToktiktok.com/@berlinfestivaloflights

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Festival of Lights