Hervanta's First Light Weeks: Projections, Shadow-Play and Lanterns from 23 October

Hervanta will host its first Light Weeks festival, opening on Friday 23 October 2026 at Hervanta Leisure Centre, according to the City of Tampere.

The festival will bathe the leisure centre in colourful façade lighting and project patterns onto Valtaraitti and the area outside youth space Hehku. An interactive shadow-play installation in the centre's courtyard invites visitors to become part of the artwork, while warm glowing lanterns will be strung among trees between the leisure centre and Ahvenisjärvi. WSP Finland Oy's Design Studio led the planning in collaboration with the city and local actors.

The Hervanta installations are part of Tampere's wider Festival of Lights programme, which opens on 23 October with the Her Voice chamber opera and the Flow of Equality light-art trail Her Voice and the Flow of Equality. The programme also includes a specially staged opera on the Tammerkoski temporary bridge the Tammerkoski chamber opera.

Local young people helped shape the programme. Their illustrations will appear in projections and on the lanterns during the winter 2026–2027 season, under a theme about finding one's voice and equality tied to the 120th anniversary of universal and equal suffrage.

The free opening on 23 October at 18:00 features the Flamman LED light show. There will be remarks from youth worker Aleksandr Lihatsov (City of Tampere) and designer Annukka Larsen (WSP Finland).

Installations remain on view through 28 February 2027, and are organised by the city's urban culture unit.