Light Up Bristol
Light Up Bristol
Light Up Bristol is a week long Christmas and Winter Festival held in December on College Green, Bristol.
Several powerful projectors beam light, animation and film across the Bristol Cathedral and the Council House, Bristol in a dazzling nightly projection lightshow.
In 2007 the organisers also ordered two tonnes of artificial snow and several snow blizzard machines from Pinewood studios which created a winter scene.
The event is developed by Bristol Media, a networking and support organisation, which enlists a team of up to 14 of the city's leading creative companies each year to develop the content around the show.
Mike Bennett Chief Exective of Bristol Media, stated: "It's all about the leading creative brains coming together to work on a huge urban canvas, taking every day areas and parts of the city and blasting them with a whole host of colours, animation and moving image".
He continued:
"The opportunity to use major Bristol landmarks such as the Council House and Cathedral as a massive canvas and bring the city to life with moving image, animation, colour and textures, don't come around that often. We think it will raise the odd smile on the shoppers and passer-bys on their way home from work".
The project is funded by Bristol +, Bristol City Council, South West of England Regional Development Agency, Bristol Media, South West Screen and a small list of private sponsors.
College Green
College Green is a public open space in Bristol, England. On the south side of the Green stand (from west to east) the Bristol Central Library, Abbey Gatehouse (mid 12th century); Bristol Cathedral; the facades of four 18th century terraced houses, now converted into offices; the Royal Hotel (1864). On the northwest side of the Green stands the Council House behind a water feature. On the east side of the Green runs a busy street, also known as College Green. On the far side is a mixture of shops and offices of various dates, together with the Lord Mayor's Chapel, St Mark's Church. On the Green are statues of Queen Victoria and Raja Rammohun Roy.
Originally a small hill north of the Avon, separated from Brandon Hill to the north by a narrow gully, it was enclosed to form the precincts of St Augustine's Abbey in the 12th century. After the Dissolution the Abbey church became Bristol Cathedral. The hill was levelled in 1950 during the building of the Council House to form its present roughly triangular shape. A plaque near the centre records that the Green still belongs to the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral.
From 1733 it was the site of the Bristol High Cross, honouring various British monarchs. The statue was then given in 1768 to Stourhead gardens and can be seen there today. A replica was made by John Norton in 1851 and sited on College Green until the architects building the new council offices had removed in the late 1940s. The Bristol Civic Society purchased the remains in 1950 and re-erected the truncated remains seen today in Berkeley Square.
These days, the green is used as a "hang out" area for the teens and university students of Bristol. It was under a group dispersal order until April 2007. The order was a result of repeated violence and underage drinking in the area. The order has since come into effect again, with a review at the end of the school summer holidays. On Saturday 21 July, a protest took place against the dispersal order and around 80 people attended. The protest gained media coverage in the Bristol Evening Post. Despite this second dispersal order, College Green has often been left unattended by the police, enabling those who it hoped to get rid of to return.
Several scenes from E4 teen drama Skins were filmed at the green. It is also the venue for Bristol Media's Light Up Bristol Christmas Festival each December.
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, 105 miles (169 km) west of London, and 24 miles (39 km) east of Cardiff.
With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and the United Kingdom's eighth most populous city, one of the group of English Core Cities and the most populous city in South West England. It received a Royal Charter in 1155 and was granted County status in 1373. From the 13th century, for half a millennium, it ranked amongst the top three English cities after London, alongside York and Norwich, until the rapid rise of Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester during the Industrial Revolution in the latter part of the 18th century. It borders the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire, and is also located near the historic cities of Bath to the south east and Gloucester to the north. The city is built around the River Avon, and it also has a short coastline on the estuary of the River Severn where it flows into the Bristol Channel.
Bristol is the largest centre of culture, employment and education in the region. Its prosperity has been linked with the sea since its earliest days. The commercial Port of Bristol was originally in the city centre before being moved to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth; Royal Portbury Dock is on the western edge of the city boundary. In more recent years the economy has depended on the creative media, electronics and aerospace industries, and the city centre docks have been regenerated as a centre of heritage and culture. There are 34 other populated places on Earth named Bristol, most in the United States, but also in Peru, Canada, Jamaica and Costa Rica, all presumably commemorating the original.