LUCI Cities & Lighting Summit
London

PROGRAMME

The Cities & Lighting Summit 2025 will focus on three main themes at the heart of today’s preoccupations for the future of urban lighting:

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability

HEALTH & WELLBEING

Health & Wellbeing

INCLUSION

Inclusion

We look forward to gathering the international urban lighting community in London, UK 23-25 April 2025.

Wednesday 23 April 2025

Venue: Guildhall London
(registration required)

10:00 – 14:00  Executive Committee meeting (LUCI EC members only)

14:00 – 16:00  LUCI Working Group meeting (LUCI members only)

Registrations will open February 2025 for working group members

  • Lighting Masterplan Working Group

Venue: NLA London Centre

16:00 – 18:30  LUCI General Assembly (LUCI members & and invitees only)
Learn about LUCI’s current and upcoming activities. The General Assembly is an important networking moment, where new members are introduced, where questions can be raised with the Executive Committee, and where members vote on the annual activity and financial reports of our association.

18:30 – 20:30  Cities & Lighting Summit Welcome Reception

20:30 – 22:30  City of London ‘by light’ – Evening walking tours

Experience first-hand the urban lighting projects and designs of the Square Mile!

Thursday 24 April 2025

Barbican Centre
(registration required)

09:00 – 10:00  Registrations & Coffee

10:00 – 10:30  Cities & Lighting Summit Opening 

10:30 – 12:00  Urban Lighting in the City of London
Hear from key experts working on the City Lighting Strategy and ongoing projects: understand the context, main features, challenges and opportunities for the future.

  • Ian Hughes, Director – City of London Operations 
  • Mark Major, Director – Speirs + Major
  • Sarah Gaventa, Director – Illuminated River Foundation

12:00 – 14:00  Networking lunch

14:00 – 16:00  Parallel sessions

Choose your session! A headline, 2 hours. Come learn and discuss with peers and experts. Speakers will be announced soon.

ENLIGHTENme brought together experts from different scientific fields and sectors, such as urban development and health research to collect evidence about indoor and outdoor lighting impacts on human health and wellbeing. The project, finalised in February 2025, aimed to research, develop and validate innovative solutions to support innovative urban lighting policies and guidance for better health in cities throughout Europe.

This session will feedback on the design experiences and research outcomes of the ENLIGHTENme project pilot sites, followed by a Q&A session.

How can public authorities and private stakeholders work together to provide the best lighting solutions, through the use of design guidelines, policies and best practices to help curate the nightscape after dark and minimise light pollution?

This session will be held as a dialogue between cities and  private stakeholders – everyone can join in!

16:30 – 18:00  Lighting for all: building safer, more inclusive public spaces after dark
At night, public spaces can feel unsafe, especially for vulnerable groups often due to inadequate lighting. Adding more light isn’t always the solution. How can lighting contribute to making public spaces safer and more inclusive? 

This plenary session will explore how a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach can help create well-lit environments that foster safety, accessibility, and inclusivity for all users, at night.

Speakers will be announced soon.

18:30 – 20:30  Evening reception

20:30 – 22:30  City of London ‘by light’ – Evening tours

Experience first-hand the urban lighting projects and designs of the Square Mile!

Friday 25 April 2025

Barbican Centre & Guildhall London
(registration required)

09:00 – 10:00  Registrations & Coffee

10:00 – 11:00  LUCI Talks: How lighting can pave the way to more sustainable cities
According to the UN Sustainable Development Goal n.11, sustainable cities are those committed to advancing social, economic, and environmental sustainability. To truly achieve this, urban design must account for the interconnectedness of these three pillars. Urban lighting plays a vital role in this balance, contributing not only to quality of life and energy efficiency but also enhancing the cultural profile and aesthetic fabric of a city. In this session, we will explore different angles of sustainability in urban lighting:

  • Circular economy and dark infrastructure in urban lighting: the case of the Paris 2024 Olympic Village, 
  • How to better plan lighting for a softer and greener city: an evidence-based approach in Gothenburg,
  • And more to be announced soon!
©James Newton, City of London

11:00 – 12:00  Open Conference Sessions

The famous Open Conference Sessions (OCS) are short & sweet 20-minute breakouts to engage with LUCI Members presenting their ongoing urban lighting projects and initiatives.

  • LUCI members, you can apply to take the floor.

12:00 – 13:30 Networking lunch

13:30 – 15:00  Parallel sessions

Choose your session! A headline, 2 hours. Come learn and discuss with peers and experts. Speakers will be announced soon.

This session will open up a dialogue between cities and experts from North American and Europe to explore common challenges and good practices to share on both sides of the ocean.

How can lighting impact the attractiveness of places after dark, driving communities, creating a sense of belonging, and supporting the night-time economy, while remaining sustainable.

Illuminated River_London Bridge_08_© James Newton, city of london

15:30 – 16:30  Lighting the future, cities at the crossroads of inclusion, sustainability and resilience

In the Summit’s closing plenary, elected officials and key players in the urban lighting field will be invited to share their vision and ideas for the future.

  • How is urban lighting evolving to be more inclusive, sustainable, and enhance wellbeing, for a better Quality of Life?
  • How can lighting shape the adaptability, resilience, and transformation of cities?
  • What are the key challenges and opportunities for urban lighting in the next 5–10 years?

18:30 – 20:30  Evening reception

Venue: Guildhall London

(registration required)

20:30 – 22:30  City of London ‘by light’ – Evening walking tours

Experience first-hand the urban lighting projects and designs of the Square Mile!

Saturday 26 April 2025

Locations to be disclosed soon
(registration required)

Optional programme

(Activities to be disclosed soon)

We’ll regularly update the programme, stay tuned!

Photo credits

©Jason Hawkes, City of London; Illuminated River Millennium Bridge ©James Newton; ©Rami Saarikorpi; ©City of Montpellier