Review: Lightport, Southport, 14th – 16th February 2026
Walking through Lightport in Southport has been like walking through another world!
What were we expecting when there was talk about this brand new event coming? It was hard to envision, with nothing like this ever seen in Southport before.
It has definitely caught people’s imaginations, with huge crowds turning up to enjoy the opening night of Lightport on Saturday!
Good news – if you missed it, Lightport is lighting up again this Sunday, and also on Monday night.
More good news – it’s completely free. You can walk around once; or twice; you can come back every night.
The numbers of people attracted from around the region to see this new spectacle were just what Southport needs.
We need people back – and crucially not just in the summer months, but all year round!
This is also a time where Southport is determined to forge a new identity, giving reasons for new people to come or for visitors to come back again with a fresh pair of eyes.
Lightport aimed to do that, as the first of four major new events under the ‘Elegantly Eccentric’ banner for Southport 2026.
This stunning light and sound installation stretches 400m along Lord Street in Southport town centre from the Mermaid Gardens (Sainsbury’s) to the Town Hall Gardens.
There are lots of different experiences along the way, with people invited to start at the Mermaid Gardens, one of the famous Lord Street gardens which is the perfect setting for a town centre light trail.
The first thing you see is the Mermaid Fountain lit up, with the trees surrounding it dancing with lights.
There are mirrored poles shining with light leading up to The Monument, where you’ll find the most breath-taking installation.
Monument Square makes you feel like you’re walking into another dimension from a sci-fi movie with smoke overhead and multi-coloured laser projections making the sky the colours of the rainbow.
It has a real wow factor.
From there there is an illuminated pathway through the Chris Church gardens towards the finale.
The Town Hall Gardens are soon to be transformed in an initiative led by the families of Alice, Bebe and Elsie into a family-friendly creative events space, so Lightport seems a fitting event to showcase just what this space can become.
The final element in the centre of the Town hall Gardens is a huge circular rainbow, with people able to walk up to and through it.
We saw Lightport as a family. Before we went, we booked into an extremely busy Volare restaurant on Lord Street, which is what the event is all about too – encouraging visitors to make a whole day or whole short break of it, and exploring the many superb restaurants, bars, cafes, shops, attractions, guest houses and hotels that we have locally.
Lightport has been organised by Lucid Creates, brought here by Sefton Council, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership.
If you’ve been impressed by Lightport, we want you to come back!
There are more events to come – in addition to the Open Golf in July and the regular major events – including:
Cristal Palace – 3rd-4th April 2026
Big Top Festival – 2nd-3rd May 2026
Books Alive! – 24th-31st October 2026
- Lightport on Lord Street in Southport is free and runs between 5pm and 9pm this Saturday, Sunday and Monday (14th – 16th February 2026) as the perfect way to start Half Term in style
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