CROWDS headed into the city centre in their thousands to visit Worcesters' first ever Light Night festival.

The rain didn't keep the visitors away as people gathered to view the may installations dotted around the city centre.

Before the event we caught up with the Severn Art team who organised the festival. They said: "We are all feeling really excited about the event, which is bringing world class performers and artwork to Worcester and showcasing this alongside our local talent.

"This is the first Light Night in Worcester. There are several other really popular Light Festivals being held around the country and we are really hoping the reaction to ours will be the same.

"Now the light sculptures are being installed, we can really see the event coming to life. The rain certainly hasn’t dampened our spirits.

"We have artists coming from all over the UK and even as far away as Canada and comments back from them are that they have all received a very warm welcome from the city and local community.

"We really don’t know how many people are going to attend as this is the first time for this event. We have had fantastic feedback from the public and local businesses in response to the event, so we are very much hoping for a good turnout."

Visitors enjoyed the glowing see-saws, the sculptures, the umbrella shows and really got into making music with the illumaphonium and Halo.

Thomas Brown wowed with his graduate commission for Light Night Worcester in Crowngate.

He said: "When I found out I had received the graduate commission from The Arches Festivals, I felt equal measures of exhilaration and fear."

David Broster, Head of the School of Arts, University of Worcester said: “This has been a great experience for our first-year students. Having the opportunity to respond to live briefs is one of the best ways to learn about working to a brief and communicating with a client, with the added pressure of a deadline.

"The installation that the students have created is really interesting and I hope visitors have enjoyed it."

Light Night Worcester is the first of four new festivals, which are part of The Arches – Worcester project. The project is supported by the Department of Culture Media and Sport’s Cultural Development Fund, administered by Arts Council England.

To see more photos and updates from the night visit worcesternews.co.uk