Immersive light festival sets a new benchmark for experiential marketing with zero-incident execution, 17,000 attendees, and a scalable platform for premium brand partnerships.

LUMENOCITY concluded its inaugural edition on the weekend, with a powerful proof point for the future of experiential marketing in South Africa - combining high-impact creative, strong audience turnout and a flawless operational record.

Staged in the Company’s Garden, the immersive light festival attracted 17,000 attendees across its four-day run, transforming a historic public space into a dynamic canvas of projection, installation and illuminated art.

LUMENOCITY, presented in partnership with Kfm 94.5, driven by MINI, supported by Zee TV and the City of Cape Town, delivered sustained footfall, high dwell time and strong social engagement, underlining growing consumer appetite for culturally led, experience-first events.

PR and Sponsorship rights were handled by CSA in partnership with Dentsu X. Sold out ticketing and over R4,7M in earned media value augur well for LUMENOCITY’s next iteration with a version already in planning for later this year in Johannesburg.

Critically, LUMENOCITY also set a new standard for event safety and execution, with zero reported incidents of theft or violence - a notable achievement for a large-scale public gathering and a key consideration for both audiences and brand partners.

“LUMENOCITY was designed as both a cultural moment and a scalable platform for brands to engage audiences in a meaningful way,” says Gareth Hadden, Founder of LUMENOCITY. “The response - from attendees and partners alike - shows the demand for experiences that are not only visually compelling, but also well-managed, safe and culturally relevant.”

The festival’s creative programme featured leading and emerging South African multimedia artists, and collaborators from the tech industry, whose work helped anchor the event’s visual identity and boundary-pushing storytelling.

“From a partnership perspective, LUMENOCITY provided us with an opportunity to integrate into a premium cultural environment - aligning with creativity, innovation and urban lifestyle,” said Kfm 94.5 station manager, Hennie Myburgh, on the event success. “LUMENOCITY brought a fresh kind of energy to Cape Town - creative, social and incredibly positive. It’s exactly the kind of experience our audience connects with.”

With its successful debut, LUMENOCITY is now positioned to scale - both in audience reach and commercial partnerships - as it looks to establish itself as a series of flagship annual events on South Africa’s cultural calendar.

Caption: Attendees gather in the Company’s Garden to experience a large-scale, vibrant projection installation during the inaugural LUMENOCITY festival.

Caption: LUMENOCITY transforms the historic Iziko South African National Gallery into a dynamic canvas of light and technology.
LUMENOCITY is a contemporary light-based arts festival that brings together a carefully curated collective of South African artists, designers, and creative studios who explore light as a dynamic medium for artistic expression. The project showcases how illumination can be transformed into immersive storytelling—blending visual art, technology, and spatial design to create a multi-sensory cultural experience.

Fast Facts:

  • Cape Town’s first large-scale light festival
  • Hosted in the historic Company’s Garden, transforming the space into a nocturnal exhibition landscape
  • Features a mix of emerging and established South African artists
  • Integrates art, technology, lighting design, and interactive installations
  • Designed as a walkable nighttime experience encouraging public engagement and exploration
  • Forms part of a broader global movement of contemporary light festivals that reimagine urban public spaces