After the major anniversary celebration last year, where the festival stretched over the entire inner ring road, the Leipzig Festival of Lights 2015 explores new themes: While, in recent years, the focus was on neighbouring countries to the east and their movements for democracy, the emphasis is now on issues surrounding civil society. "Liberty - Equality - Fraternity?" is the motto of this year - critically backlighting this statement and, thus, punctuated by a question mark. The identity of the individual in a Germany, once divided and now reunited for 25 years, is the intellectual starting point of the evening. A tension-filled panorama is created through the interaction and interplay of text, image and music. Here you can find an exclusively impression of this year's programme.

In 2015, Israel and Germany celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Leipzig participates with a number of projects in the transnational programme on the occasion of the anniversary. A highlight of the calendar of events was the Leipzig Week in Jerusalem, an integrative part of which is a contribution to the simultaneously held 7th Jerusalem Festival of Light.

Light artists from all around the world set the Old City of Jerusalem ablaze with their light installations. Jürgen Meier, artistic director of the Leipzig Festival of Lights, has been among them for the first time. He projected his artwork of light and music onto the façade of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. The video installation 'Hope and Disappointment' shows a waterfall flowing out of a church. Its imagery addresses the religiously anchored meaning of water as a source of life.

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