Dazzling new showstoppers for Christmas at the Botanics 2023
and live on Freeview channel 276
And, with only 77 sleeps until the opening night, festive fun-lovers are being urged to book now to guarantee popular timed-entry slots to the re-imagined after-dark experience at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, from November 16 to December 30.
BUY NOW: New off-peak day tickets, popular early evening and weekend times are expected to sell out fast for Christmas At The Botanics 2023 so book tickets today – CLICK HERE.
The 2022 trail attracted its biggest audience yet, with the Botanics welcoming more than 95,000 visitors during a six week run.
The magic of Christmas will return – for a seventh year – with a host of new and spectacular botanical-themed installations, by artists both local to Edinburgh and from around the world, transforming the Garden once again into an awe-inspiring mile-long illuminated trail.
Dragonflies will appear to defy gravity as they are suspended over the serene Botanic Pond.
This installation, of six dragonflies, each measuring almost two metres in length, has been created by local artist, Martha Ellis, who lives in Musselburgh and has a studio in Edinburgh.
Martha’s work takes inspiration from pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.
Fire Dancers will also be part of this year’s Fire Garden and has been created by artist Maria Hingerty, previously associate director of The World Famous, one of the leading firework and pyrotechnic performance companies in the world.
The unique installation takes inspiration from Maria’s own joyful memories of celebratory gatherings, representing the ideas of unity and hope that are associated with the festive period.
It follows the announcement of other new installations confirmed for 2023 including Crocus, created by leading designers of illuminated flowers, Jigantics, who were behind the stunning Lilies on the Botanic Pond in 2022.
A meadow of 100 crocuses, measuring in at over a metre high, they will gently sway and transform through different shades of colour in time to enchanting music.
Pampas is another new highlight, created by TILT, a French artistic studio founded in 2001 that focuses on the exploration of light and its interplay with art, architecture and space. Visitors can explore the groves of luminous pampas plants which are animated with bright colours.
Light a Wish, created by OGE Group, courtesy Light Art Collection, promises to be another showstopper – it visualises the moment dandelion seeds disperse in the air, taking your wish with them into the world.
Popular returning favourites include the spectacular Christmas Cathedral and the Inverleith House projection.
All the new and returning installations along the one-mile illuminated trail are low in energy and have been selected to complement the Botanics’ environment.
Also new for 2023 is the introduction of off-peak tickets. Available on selected evenings in November and December, these tickets enable visitors to make savings on their ticket purchase.
Simon Milne, the Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, said: "This year's transformed Christmas at the Botanics trail promises our visitors a new and impressive nocturnal Garden exploration and will be a fabulous festive outing for friends and families. I am very proud of our team's artistic and fun creations that bring together Christmas, plants, light, and creativity.
"The introduction of off-peak tickets will enable more people to join us this year, and it is important to note that all profits from Christmas at the Botanics will help advance our national and international plant research, conservation, and education programmes."
Christmas at the Botanics, presented in partnership with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and creative producer Culture Creative, is one of nine illuminated trails staged across the UK by leading events promoter Raymond Gubbay Limited, a division of Sony Music.
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