GLOW Eindhoven, one of Europe’s largest light-art festivals, opens November 7 and runs through November 14 for its 20th-anniversary edition, under the theme CONNECT. The roughly five-kilometre route runs through central Eindhoven — 18 Septemberplein, Victoriapark, Emmasingel, Stadhuisplein, Catharinakerk, Smalle Haven, and the Market Square — and the festival now extends into five surrounding towns as well: Best, Oirschot, Helmond, Veldhoven, and Lieshout.
New artistic leadership takes over this year. Philip Ross — a designer, researcher, and entrepreneur working at the intersection of art and technology — becomes GLOW’s festival director for the first time. His framing for the anniversary edition is explicitly conservative rather than reinventive: “The question is not what we will do differently this year,” he said at the May preview event. “We will preserve and strengthen the good and beautiful things that make GLOW what it is.”
The headline return is a drone show at Philips Stadion, in collaboration with TWOFIFTYK — the first time GLOW has presented work at the stadium since 2019. Along the main route, artist duo Tom & Lien Dekyvere present a new work called Macchina at 18 Septemberplein, and the international collective Nohlab installs a 13.5-metre large-scale piece at Stadhuisplein.
Two projects lean into the CONNECT theme more literally. Rabobank, working with design studio Beeldjutters, is building a sport-themed light installation tied to the bank’s partnership with PSV Eindhoven, appearing at several points along the route. And in the Catharinakerk and other regional locations, Fabellicht, a children’s project by Hugo Vrijdag, invites kids from Eindhoven and the surrounding municipalities to shape collective light-based stories — a talent-development and community-connection piece running alongside the festival’s international commissions, not separate from them.
The festival’s own call for artist submissions for 2026 closed in April, with selected projects notified before April 15 — meaning this year’s lineup has been locked for months and is now a known quantity rather than a rumor. For anyone planning a visit: Eindhoven’s route runs 18:30–23:00 each evening; the satellite towns run 18:30–22:00.
Last year’s aftermovie, from GLOW Eindhoven’s own channel — this year’s program builds directly on this scale.
Related Reading
- GLOW 2026 with the theme CONNECT returns to Eindhoven with drone show at Philips Stadion — official GLOW Eindhoven announcement
- GLOW Eindhoven 2026 official event page
- GLOW Eindhoven: 20 years of light art, community and connection — LUCI Association
- Getting Started With Documenting Your Art: Photograph Your Work Like a Pro — our tutorial, relevant for festival-goers shooting large-scale light work