As part of the fifth edition of LUNAR Festival of Lights, Sofia will host an international immersive video mapping competition from September 17 to 20, when the city centre will be transformed into a stage for light art. The event is organized by Sofia Municipality and MP-STUDIO, with admission free of charge.

The shows will be presented every evening from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Seven finalists from Indonesia, Italy, China, Poland, Ukraine and the Czechia, selected by an international jury, will compete with works aligned with the theme Urban Pulse, dedicated to the city as a living organism that changes and brings together people, ideas and energy.

The programme will open with Topographies of Light, a light show created by MP-STUDIO specifically for Sofia. For the first time, visitors will be able to vote for their favourite show through the festival’s mobile app. Voting will run from 8:00 p.m. on September 17 until 11:59 p.m. on September 19. On September 20, the two winning shows will be announced – the jury’s choice and the audience award.

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev invites residents and visitors to attend the festival.

To ensure safe movement of visitors, traffic will be halted from 8:00 p.m. to midnight on September 17, 18, 19 and 20 along Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd. between Knyaz Aleksandar I St. and Maria Luiza Blvd., as well as along Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Blvd. between Serdika St. and Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd.

The Urban Mobility Centre and Metropoliten JSC will ensure the shortest possible intervals between metro trains, while operating hours may be extended if necessary until all festival visitors have been transported. A festival zone offering merchandise and beverages will be set up at Atanas Burov Square.

Before coming to Sofia, the festival held its second Black Sea edition from August 7 to 10, titled Sea of Lights.