From 22 to 25 January 2026, the city of Mons in Hainaut transforms into a luminous open-air festival celebrating art, visibility and shared nights.
Mons will once again step into the spotlight this winter as Mons en Lumières (Mons in Lights) returns from 22 to 25 January 2026, transforming the historic city centre into a glowing, queer-friendly urban wonderland.
Over four evenings, from 6 PM to midnight, the city in Wallonia will host a free, open-air light trail stretching nearly three kilometres, where streets, squares and landmark buildings become the backdrop for luminous art, shared emotion and collective night-time wandering.
A winter festival that has become a Walloon must-see
Now entering its third edition, Mons en Lumières has quickly established itself as one of Wallonia’s flagship winter events. In just two editions, the festival has attracted more than 260,000 visitors, energising local cafés, shops and nightlife while inviting people to rediscover the city after dark.
Entirely free and accessible to all, it has also become a natural meeting point for LGBTQIA+ audiences seeking a welcoming, low-threshold public space where visibility, togetherness and celebration feel effortless and safe.
‘Entering the light’, a theme that resonates far beyond aesthetics
The 2026 edition unfolds under the poetic and resonant theme ‘Entering the light. A need to illuminate the world‘.
Conceived in close collaboration with the University of Mons (UMONS) and MUMONS around the exhibition ‘Électrique!‘, the theme invites visitors to cross a symbolic threshold: to leave the shadows behind, rekindle an inner flame and see the city, and perhaps themselves, in a new light.
Beyond its visual appeal, light is explored here as energy, warmth, movement and knowledge, a powerful metaphor for connection, community and the journeys from invisibility to presence that resonate strongly within queer lives.
A glowing trail through heritage and contemporary creation
Along the route, 17 light installations and projections by local, national and international artists will punctuate familiar places such as the Grand-Place, the Belfry, Sainte-Waudru, the Jardin du Mayeur, Maison Losseau and the CAP.
Each work has been conceived specifically for this edition, offering new encounters and unexpected perspectives that encourage visitors to slow down, look up and reclaim the city together. The trail begins and ends at Place Léopold, at the foot of Mons station, transformed into an immersive gateway setting the tone for the experience.
Art meets art: a timely dialogue with David Hockney
Mons en Lumières 2026 coincides with the closing weekend of David Hockney. The Song of the Earth at the CAP, creating a natural dialogue between the artist’s colour-saturated, queer-coded landscapes and the city’s illuminated streets. For culture-hungry visitors, the combination offers a layered weekend where painting, light and emotion echo each other across different spaces.
A shared, queer-friendly night out in the city
Beyond spectacle, the festival consciously positions itself as a collective urban night out. The route alternates between monumental installations in busy squares and more intimate works hidden in gardens and courtyards, allowing for both lively public moments and quieter pauses.
For LGBTQIA+ people and allies, these temporary light-filled streets function as open-air safe zones, places to stroll hand in hand, meet friends or simply exist visibly in the city at night.
Lighting the city responsibly
Environmental responsibility also plays a central role in the festival’s design. Mons en Lumières commits to low-energy technologies, careful resource management and an eco-conscious organisation, aligning the event with broader concerns around sustainability and climate awareness without compromising on sensory impact.
The light continues at SPARKOH!
The experience does not end in Mons itself. From 12 to 14 February 2026, Mons en Lumières continues at SPARKOH! in Frameries, where a former industrial site will host a more intimate and exploratory light experience. Rooted in the mining heritage of the Borinage and timed around Valentine’s Day, this extension offers an atmospheric setting for couples and friends alike, while deepening the connection between light, electricity and knowledge that runs through the ‘Électrique!’ exhibition.
With its blend of art and science, monumentality and intimacy, Mons en Lumières 2026 promises four winter nights where the city glows, people gather and light becomes a shared language. Free, accessible and open to all, the festival once again invites visitors to enter the light and illuminate the world together.