When Sharjah Light Festival comes alive each year, the emirate’s landmarks transforms into luminous canvases—brought to life through innovative projection mapping, bespoke soundtracks and storytelling that draws on local culture as much as it does contemporary digital art. In 2026, the festival’s energy extends beyond the main illuminations into a destination built for lingering: Light Village, a lively, family-friendly hub of dining, shopping, entertainment and glowing experiences.
Set up beside the University City Hall building, Light Village runs from 29 January to 22 February 2026, offering visitors a place to gather before or after the headline light shows—or simply make an evening of it. Sharjah Light Festival’s momentum continues to grow year after year; the previous edition welcomed more than 800,000 visitors, underscoring how the festival has become one of the emirate’s most anticipated annual events.
While Sharjah Light Festival is renowned for its large-scale light projections across the emirate’s landmark sites, Light Village has developed into its own must-visit destination: a compact night market atmosphere powered by creativity, music, and a curated mix of vendors and experiences.
Variety sits at its core, visitors can explore more than 50 food and beverage outlets—from quick bites to sit-down dinning and café-style stops—alongside 25 retail stores featuring a growing mix of participating brands and businesses. The destination continues to witness rising participation from national SMEs and local business owners each year, contributing to the festival’s growing socio-economic impact by supporting entrepreneurship, creating business opportunities, and enhancing local economic activity. Visitors can also enjoy entertainment offerings and a dedicated games zone designed to keep families and groups engaged into the evening, in addition to light installations and interactive experiences ranging from ticketed attractions to free-to-enjoy works across the village.
The village’s evolving vendor line-up also reflects its growing reputation as a welcoming platform for start-ups alongside established names, creating a dynamic shopping and dining mix that reshapes the experience with each visit.
The Light Village also features a dedicated Kids Zone, offering a vibrant space filled with fun, games, and interactive play areas designed for younger visitors. The zone includes engaging workshops and family-friendly activities that encourage creativity, learning, and active participation, creating an enjoyable environment where children and families can spend quality time together as part of the overall festival experience.
A key highlight in 2026 is the ticketed Light Experiences Exhibition, featuring Sonic Neon + Analemma by Japanese artist Yasuhiro Chida
These experiences are positioned as a dedicated attraction within Light Village—an invitation to step into a more immersive, gallery-like encounter where light becomes an environment to step into, rather than a backdrop.
Beyond the ticketed exhibition, visitors will also find non-ticketed art installations spread throughout the village, encouraging discovery as they move between dinning, retail and entertainment zones.
Light Village is designed for evenings—ideal for cooler weather, post-work meetups and weekend night-outs.
Regular hours
During Ramadan
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