Copenhagen Light Festival

What Copenhagen Light Festival does

Copenhagen Light Festival is a non-profit association (Foreningen Copenhagen Light Festival/Københavns Lysfestival, CVR 40793232) that produces an annual three-week light art festival across Copenhagen during February. Founded in February 2020 by Tivoli, Stromma Denmark, VNR.tv, and Louis Poulsen/D Studio, the festival presents more than 50 light-based works, including sculptures, installations, projection mappings, illuminations, and events, created by established and emerging light artists. Admission is free, and installations are spread across the inner city, harbor, and surrounding districts, accessible via curated walking, cycling, metro, and harbor boat routes and an official mobile app ("Within10Minutes").

The organization operates with a small secretariat of roughly 3-5 staff alongside a board composed of executives from the four founding partners plus independent members. The festival has been self-described as "Europe's biggest light festival," attracts 300,000-400,000+ visitors per edition, and generates 6.2M+ social media engagements. Its product surface also includes a year-round Permanent Installations program (featuring works by Olafur Eliasson, Speirs Major, and others), a Photo Competition, guided LED-headphone tours, light runs, and artist talks.

The business model is non-commercial: the festival is funded by foundations (Augustinus Fonden, Villum Fonden, Creative Europe), main sponsors (Ørsted for green electricity, Royal Unibrew), and a broad partner network (Signify, Wonderful Copenhagen, DR, Center for Lys, Reffen Copenhagen, Imagine Peace project partners), with no ticket revenue. Reach is driven by earned media (Via Ritzau press releases, VNR.TV video content), owned social channels across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and TikTok, the official app, and physical information points, including an underlying municipal partnership with Københavns Kommune that provides logo endorsement and curatorial access to public spaces.

Name

Copenhagen Light Festival

Legal name

Foreningen Copenhagen Light Festival/Københavns Lysfestival

Website

https://copenhagenlightfestival.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Copenhagen Light Festival is a Copenhagen-based non-profit association that produces Europe's largest annual light art festival, presenting 50+ free installations over three weeks in February. It serves local residents and tourists and is funded by foundations, sponsors, and four founding partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Festival Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

National/Seasonal Holiday Festivals (New Year, Harvest, Winter Markets) (MPAGAEAD), Art, Street Art & Creative Scene Tours (THAJAAAE)

Keywords

• Light art festival
• Cultural event production
• Public art installations
• Winter cultural tourism
• Urban illumination design

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Sponsor Funding: Non-profit organization funded by foundations, main partners (Tivoli, Stromma, VNR.tv, Louis Poulsen), and various sponsors and collaboration partners
2. Donations and Fundraising: Support from fundraisers and individual donations through partnerships

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Copenhagen Light Festival organizes an annual three-week light art festival each February, presenting 50+ curated light installations, sculptures, projection mappings, events and illuminations across Copenhagen's inner city and harbor. It also operates the Within10Minutes festival app with artwork locations and treasure hunt, curated walking/cycling/metro routes, guided tours, a photo competition, and a year-round portfolio of permanent lighting installations.

Product overview

Copenhagen Light Festival is a non-profit annual light art festival founded by Tivoli, Stromma, VNR.tv, and Louis Poulsen/D Studio. The festival transforms Copenhagen's winter darkness (January-February) into a unique celebration of light art, presenting sculptures, installations, projection mappings, events, and illuminations created by established and emerging light artists, lighting designers, students, and organizations. The core festival offering includes the curated light art program, an official mobile app (Within10Minutes) with artwork locations and audio content, festival maps with curated walking/running/cycling/metro routes (2-10 km), photo competitions, luminous collaborations with partners, and access to permanent lighting installations across Copenhagen. Supporting services include guided tours with LED headphones, press and media support, and hosting opportunities for cultural institutions and municipalities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Copenhagen Light Festival (Annual Festival Program) Annual three-week light art festival held every February that transforms Copenhagen's dark winter into a celebration of light art, lighting design, and illumination, presenting 50+ sculptures, installations, projection mappings, events, and illuminations created by established and emerging light artists, lighting designers, students, and organizations.
• Within10Minutes Festival App Official mobile app for the Copenhagen Light Festival featuring artwork locations, artist information, audio content, route switching, and a family-friendly treasure hunt with prizes at participating locations.
• Festival Map & Curated Routes Curated walking, cycling, metro, and running routes of 2-10 km that guide visitors through light installations across Copenhagen's inner city, harbor areas, and district neighborhoods.
• Guided Tours & Events Curated guided tours with LED headphones, light runs, artist talks, professional choir performances, and light treasure hunts with prizes such as warm drinks or hotel stays.
• Permanent Installations Program Year-round portfolio of permanent lighting design and art installations across Copenhagen, including works by Olafur Eliasson, Speirs Major, Gottlieb Paludan Architects, and ÅF Lighting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 300,000+ visitors annually with 6.2M+ social media engagements
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered international, sponsor, main sponsor, partner, venue partner, founding partner and core partner.

• Imagine Peace Project PartnersinternationalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Cross-city collaboration with light festivals in other European cities (Essen) for the Imagine Peace project by Claudia Reh, exploring peace through light and creativity.
• ØrstedsponsorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Sponsor of green electricity for the festival, ensuring sustainable wind energy for the overall energy draw during the festival period.
• Royal Unibrewmain sponsorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Main sponsor providing beverage and refreshment sponsorship for festival operations.
• Wonderful CopenhagenpartnerGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Copenhagen's official tourist organization, providing recommendations and promoting the festival to visitors.
• DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation)partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024DR Vocal Ensemble collaborates on atmospheric musical performances at the Marble Church during the festival.
• SignifysponsorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Lighting technology company sponsoring the festival with lighting equipment and expertise.
• Reffen Copenhagenvenue partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Former shipyard now cultural hub on Refshaleøen hosting Green Beam endpoint and other installations.
• Center for Lys (DCL)partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Danish Light Knowledge Center collaborating on light art and design initiatives.
• Tivolifounding partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2020Founding partner of Copenhagen Light Festival. Tivoli provides venues and hosts light installations including the iconic Green Beam connection point. The festival was established in February 2020 with Tivoli as a core founding organization.
• Stromma Denmark A/Sfounding partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2020Founding partner providing tour and experience operations. Mads Vestergaard Olesen, CEO of Stromma Denmark A/S, serves as Vice Chairman of the festival board.
• VNR.tvcore partnerGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2020Video production and press partner. Anders Kongshaug, Director of VNR.TV, serves as Head of Press/PR and Productions for the festival. Provides video content and media production services.
• Louis Poulsen / D Studio Copenhagenfounding partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2020Lighting design company and founding partner. Kasper Hammer, Director of Product & Design at Louis Poulsen, serves on the festival board.
• Københavns Kommune (City of Copenhagen)core partnerGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2020Municipal partner providing support through the Copenhagen City logo partnership. Various local committees and neighborhood associations collaborate on district installations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Berlin Festival of Lights: Berlin Festival of Lights is a 10-day autumn light art festival illuminating iconic landmarks and facades. Direct peer in the European winter/shoulder-season light festival category with similar urban-canvas presentation.
• Amsterdam Light Festival: Amsterdam Light Festival is a winter light art festival along the city's canals, presenting illuminated sculptures and installations. It is the closest direct peer — similar scale, similar winter-window model, similar mix of curated light art and public access.
• Ghent Light Festival: Ghent Light Festival (Feest van het Licht) is a Belgian light art festival presenting installations across the city's public spaces. Similar concept, similar European urban setting, similar scale to Copenhagen.
• Lights in Alingsås: Lights in Alingsås is a Swedish light festival held each autumn in Alingsås, featuring installations across the town. Highly comparable curated light-art festival in a Nordic context.
• Signal Festival Prague: Signal Festival is a multi-day light art festival in Prague featuring curated light installations across the city center. Highly comparable in concept, scale, and target audience to Copenhagen Light Festival.
• Bright Brussels / Brussels Light Festival: Bright Brussels is a biennial winter light art festival illuminating Brussels' buildings and public spaces. Direct peer concept with similar urban-canvas presentation in a European capital.

Broad incumbents

• Fête des Lumières (Lyon): Lyon Fête des Lumières is a 4-day December light festival that has run since 1852 and draws ~1.5–2M visitors. It is the iconic incumbent in the light festival category, offering a useful scale and longevity benchmark for Copenhagen.
• Vivid Sydney: Vivid Sydney is a major annual light, music, and ideas festival attracting ~2.5M visitors. Larger and broader in scope, but a key aspirational comparable on light-art curation, sponsor scale, and tourism impact.

Regional players

• Lumiere Durham: Lumiere is the UK's largest light festival, produced by Artichoke and held biennially in Durham and other UK cities. Comparable light-art festival concept with a different geographic market.
• Enlighten Canberra: Enlighten is an annual autumn light festival in Canberra featuring building projections and curated installations. Comparable concept but operates in a different hemisphere and geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cphlightfest
• Facebookfacebook.com/cphlightfest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/copenhagen-light-festival
• Instagraminstagram.com/cphlightfest/?hl=da
• TikToktiktok.com/@copenhagenlightfestival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

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 Copenhagen Light Festival