This summer, Daan Roosegaarde is bringing Seeing Stars to the sky of Leiden, the European City of Science 2022 and home of DutchReview. ✨
Studio Roosegaarde, UNESCO Netherlands, Leiden2022, and Leiden and Partners will come together to create a night of ultimate stargazing for Leideners — and we couldn’t be more excited. 🔭
Seeing Stars Leiden is a project by artist Daan Roosegaarde which follows the footsteps of last year’s event in the city of Franeker where Roosegaarde brought the stars back into residents’ twinkling eyes by switching off the city lights.
Lights out, stars on
“The aim of Seeing Stars Leiden is to create amazement and solidarity among the people of Leiden. That they can experience the city together under a starry sky. That is the core of this project”, director of Leiden and Partners, Martijn Bulthuis, explains to the Omroep West.
READ MORE | Dutch artist creates biodegradable fireworks to spark social change
Eyes on the Milky Way
The hour-long event will take place in the area around the Old Observatory in Leiden, where all non-essential lights will be switched off so the entire city can look at the starry sky and possibly the Milky Way! 🤞
However, this event is different from Franeker’s as it’s on a much larger scale given Leiden’s size, number of inhabitants, and heavier traffic. More complex planning is required — and the weather must be taken into account. 🌌
Big plans
The exact date of the event hasn’t been announced yet, but the plans aim toward the summer with the date to be announced by mid-March as Bulthuis explained.
READ MORE | GROW: Dutch design studio lights up the future of agriculture
The event organizers are also considering planning the event during expected meteor showers which fall between August and September for an added dazzle on the already magical night.
Seeing Stars in Leiden will be part of a year-long festival organized by the city in celebration of Leiden as European City of Science 2022. The festival, which began in January, holds 365 days of the festivities covering various science-y themes.
Will you be there for Seeing Stars at Leiden? 😍 Tell us in the comments below!
Feature Image: STUDIO ROOSEGAARDE