St Edmund Light Show tickets

Abbey of St Edmund 1000 Celebrations

Tickets on sale from 30 September for St Edmund’s Day Weekend Spectacular 17-20 November

Tickets for the spectacular light show over St Edmund’s Day weekend will be on sale from Friday, 30 September. Taking place every evening between 17 and 20 November in the heart of Bury St Edmunds, the light show is part of the celebrations for the 1000^th anniversary of the founding of the Abbey of St Edmund.

Sound and light projections onto the historic Norman Tower and St Edmundsbury Cathedral Tower will tell the story of St Edmund and the founding of the Abbey using carefully researched historic images, accompanied by an enchanting themed light trail through the Abbey Gardens.

The two video projections will use 3D mapping directly onto the surface of the buildings, as opposed to a conventional screen, resulting in visually striking effects, creating an unmissable finale to the year’s celebrations. Each projection will be repeated during the evening.

Images will be from many historic sources including illuminated manuscripts from the Abbey such as the Bury Bible and Lydgate’s Life of St Edmund, combined with special lighting effects, music and voices.

The Weekend Spectacular experience begins at the Norman Tower. View the projection on the building, then follow the special effects light trail through the Abbey Gardens taking in the Abbey ruins, Rose Garden and the Pilgrims Herb Garden. The trail emerges into the Cathedral car park, where you can view the second projection on the side of the Cathedral Tower.

Rev’d Canon Matthew Vernon, St Edmundsbury Cathedral said;  “This is a fantastic culmination of a year long celebration of 1000 years since the founding of the Abbey of St Edmund. We hope residents and visitors alike will join us to celebrate here at the Norman Tower, St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and the Abbey Gardens where it all started 1000 years ago.”

Cllr Jo Rayner, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture at West Suffolk Council said; “This is an opportunity for people from across our communities to come together to celebrate, share and enjoy this special moment in our unique and wonderful history.

“We know that the last few years, when these celebrations were originally planned for, have been difficult and this year continues to present us all with new challenges.

Never-the-less, we and our communities are proud of our history and heritage in West Suffolk. That is why I am delighted that the partnership has been able to secure support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for these events including the Weekend Spectacular which alongside the Christmas in Bury St Edmunds events, we hope will provide some winter sparkle and cheer to communities and local businesses.”

Libby Ranzetta, Chair of Abbey 1000 C.I.C, said; “This fabulous event will evoke the magnificence of the Abbey of St Edmund at the height of its glory, when pilgrims from all over Europe would travel miles by foot and horseback to kneel at St Edmund’s bejewelled shrine and marvel at the huge abbey church.  We thank the National Lottery Heritage Fund, local businesses, Bury St Edmunds Town Council and West Suffolk Council for making this and the other Abbey 1000 celebratory events possible throughout 2022.”

Fully accessible, it will take around 20-30 minutes to walk through the light trail with timed and ticketed admission. Tickets for the evening will be on sale from 8.00am on 30 September online at www.whatsonwestsuffolk.co.uk/whats-on or in person at The Apex box office priced at £3 per person, with free entry for under 5s.

The Weekend Spectacular is among nine important Abbey 1000 events supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. It is being jointly organised by St Edmundsbury Cathedral and West Suffolk Council on behalf of Abbey 1000 C.I.C, while West Suffolk College is producing the Abbey Gardens trail. The light show will be created by the award-winning Projection Studio, who have created 3D video mapping on several UK landmark buildings including the Blackpool Tower and York Minster.