Lightopia Manchester 2022: the best bits of the new light and lantern trail at Heaton Park

A huge annual light and lantern festival has opened for 2022 in Greater Manchester. Lightopia Festival at Heaton Park is a festive fixture on the Christmas calendar and has opened its doors on 24 November to mark the beginning of the Christmas season.

This year, Lightopia’s A Christmas Story includes christmas-themed installations of all shapes and colours, including a larger than life lit-up Christmas tree, as well as a water show finale, enchanted mystical forest and showstopper giant Phoenix. The event is full of food stalls, mesmerising lights, and of course some funfair rides. There’s a spectacular view of the whole lit-up trail from above if you dare to take a seat on the ferris wheel.

We went down to the festival on opening night to take a tour of the lights and speak to founder and creative director Ian Xiang for our video report. Lightopia runs until 2 January and you can buy tickets from the Lightopia website here. Prices start from £11 for a child and doors open each day from 5pm.