Light Up Wakefield

The Events Team at Wakefield Council are passionate about providing an enjoyable experience that is accessible to all.

Light Up Wakefield 2023 will take place between Friday 17th and Sunday 19th November 2023 from 12pm – 8pm.

The event incorporates the switching on of the Christmas lights on Friday at 5pm on the stage. Across the three days there will be a Christmas Craft & Gift Market located in two heated and decorated marquees, a festive tipi structure containing a bar and seating area with live music scheduled. Street food vendors will be located on the precinct serving food and drinks (no alcohol).

The event entertainment includes a projection show called ‘Leap’, a walkabout puppet show, a static installation called Glass House, and free family festive crafts and elf meet-and-greet in the family activity marquee.

The festival is organised by Wakefield Council’s Specialist Markets and Events Team and is held in Wakefield City Centre.

The precinct is mainly flat, the area can be easily navigated around without having to cross any steps and inclines.

The Bull Ring – Heated Tipi, Live Music and Bar area.

Kirkgate – Christmas Craft Marquee and Food Vendors.

Northgate – LEAP projection show and Catering.

The Ridings Shopping Centre – Shopping area, rest spaces, quiet cafes and accessible facilities (changing place).

Trinity Walk – Shopping area, rest spaces, cafes, restaurants and accessible facilities (changing place).

Our friendly team of staff, security, first aiders and contractors will be on hand to offer any assistance. You can find us in either Hi-Viz or Wakefield Council uniform, look for ‘EVENT STAFF’ on our backs!

Please note this is not a ticketed event and therefore we cannot confirm what the site capacity will be on the day, previous years has shown Friday and Saturday as the busiest day and Sunday being slightly quieter. The crowds generally gather close to the stalls and break out areas can be found on the precinct where benches can be found for rests.

The Ridings Shopping Centre is located adjacent to the outdoor festival that will be a quieter area for you to stop and have food and drink should the festival area be crowded, this area also contains disabled access toilets, changing area and an Assistance and Accessibility Lounge. Details of which can be found at; Assistance and Accessibility Lounge – The Ridings (ridingscentre.com)

Subtitling – The performances of LEAP will be subtitled.

Toilets – A portable disabled access toilet unit will be located on the precinct next to the tipi however if you prefer, full accessible toilets can be found within the Ridings Shopping Centre building.

Changing Places – There are three changing places located in Wakefield close to the festival site, a ‘What 3 Words’ location has been provided for these to try and ensure an easy way to find these facilities.

• Trinity Walk Shopping Centre ///begin.short.loans
• Wakefield Museum ///nails.labels.muddy
• The Ridings Shopping Centre ///elaborate.pump.lowest

Parking – The closest and most convenient disabled parking to the precinct is The Ridings Shopping Centre or Trinity Walk Shopping Centre – see parking tab below for more details on spaces.

Should you need any form of medical attention please inform a member of staff or security on site where they can show you where the medical tent is located or request for a medic to come to you.

Unfortunately, we do not have any secure storage for medicines on site.

Assistance dogs are welcomed to all areas of the event, this must be an assistance dog that is recognised by one of the official charitable organisations as members of Assistance Dogs UK.

The closest and most convenient disabled parking to the precinct is The Ridings Shopping Centre here they have in total over 1,000 spaces, including 43 blue badge holder spaces and 22 family parking bays all with direct access into the centre. WF1 1DS

More parking can be found at Trinity Walk – 1,000 spaces with Disabled parking located on the ground floor outside Sainsburys. WF1 1QQ

You can reach the festival by bus or by train easily. Please see our getting here page.

We are continually updating our access provisions for the Light Up events with updated maps etc., so please keep checking pack on this page.

If you do have any queries or feel that there is anything we can improve on, we are open to suggestions!

Please feel free to contact us on festivals@wakefield.gov.uk