Eindhoven, 23 May 2025 – This year, light art festival GLOW celebrates its 20th edition with an impressive mix of iconic light installations and emerging talent. During a well-attended preview event at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, the organisation unveiled the theme ‘The Light’ along with a glimpse of the route that will illuminate the heart of Eindhoven – and the surrounding region – this November.

Attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and earning an audience rating of 8 out of 10, GLOW’s anniversary edition promises a blend of returning favourites – such as Windows on the Catharinakerk, a renewed Tower of Light, and the Tunnel on Rechtestraat – alongside brand-new works created in collaboration with children, students, companies, and healthcare professionals from the region.

As in previous years, GLOW is more than just a route through the city centre. A highlight at Eindhoven Airport will be the Dome by Luminarie De Cagna. Surrounding municipalities including Oirschot, Best and Helmond are once again participating. “Light connects people of all ages,” said Councillor Van Lierop (Helmond). Entrepreneurs in Oirschot have also embraced the festival: “What began with scepticism is now an opportunity to put our historic town centre on the map,” noted Councillor Van de Ven from the municipality of Oirschot.

A special moment during the preview was the announcement of the departure of Artistic Director Ronald Ramakers, who will step down after ten years. “GLOW is the ultimate example of collaboration – with residents, students, companies and municipalities. Light is a universal connector.” As his farewell project, Ramakers aims to create a spectacular installation on Stadhuisplein, in partnership with young people and Maincourse, combining 2D and 3D animation with AI-generated elements. He is calling on the business community to help make this ‘gift to the city’ a reality.

GLOW is made possible by its Founding Partners: Signify and the Municipality of Eindhoven. Main Partners include: ASML, BIZ Eindhoven, Christie, EDGE Eindhoven, Eindhoven 247, Eindhoven Airport, Heuvel Eindhoven, Mini Netherlands, Philips, Pronorm, Pullman, Rabobank, Sahara Benelux, Simac, and many supporting partners.

Note to editors:
As part of the 20-year celebration, several audience favourites from previous editions will return along the route this year. For example, Windows by Daniel Margraf (2017) on the Catharinakerk and a new version of Tower of Light on the Lichttoren – developed by Jan Fabel, Dirk van Poppel and Erwin Steijlen (2018) – will make a comeback. Other notable locations include the Effenaar, Paterskerk, Anne Frankplantsoen, and Heuvelgalerie. The Van Abbemuseum is also taking part: it will host a children’s project by Hugo Vrijdag, in which children from Eindhoven and the surrounding municipalities can shape their own dream city. Once again this year, GLOW partner ASML is making an active contribution by developing a light art installation together with staff from Catharina Hospital and Máxima Medical Centre.

The preliminary route can be found on the GLOW website. The full programme for GLOW 2025 will be announced later this year.