Alingsås Energi Awarded 2025 Sustainability Step of the Year Award
The jury’s motivation
“Lights in Alingsås is not only a fantastic event but also a platform for sustainable urban development. Through inclusive guided tours, energy-efficient technology and strong local engagement, Lights in Alingsås demonstrates how culture can help shape the city of the future and create new ways for people to meet and experience place.”
Each year, West Sweden Tourist Board awards the Sustainability Step of the Year to two recipients: one tourism-related business and one municipal initiative in West Sweden. The award was received in front of a full house at Bergakungen Cinema in Gothenburg, by Alingsås Energi staff members Frida Almqvist (Workshop Manager), Camilla Broström (Event Manager) and Shecko Amoor (Communications Officer).
— We are incredibly happy and surprised. It is a great honour for us, and it feels fantastic to receive such a prestigious award, says Camilla Broström.
The Student Workshop – The Heart of Lights
Lights in Alingsås is an annual light festival that has taken place in central Alingsås every October since 1998. What sets the event apart is its process; While Alingsås Energi defines the theme and route in advance, the installations themselves are created during a week-long workshop in late September, where professional lighting designers and students collaborate on site.
This means that no one knows the final result until opening night. The completed installations illuminate the city for four weeks and can be experienced independently or by guided tour.
— The students do everything from concept development, to installation, safety, and the finished works. For many, it is the very first time they have ever handled a lighting fixture. This is truly hands-on learning, says Frida Almqvist.
Over the years, Lights in Alingsås has become an internationally recognised event that attracts large numbers of visitors during its four weeks in October. In 2024, the event set a new record with 90,000 visitors eager to experience the light installations. In 2025, attendance reached 70,000, a figure the organisers regard as both strong and manageable.
— During peak weekends, we can have up to 8,000 people moving through the city at the same time, and then it starts to feel crowded. We want everyone to have a positive experience, and we work hard to spread visits across all days of the week, says Camilla Broström.
Photo: Patrik Gunnar Helin
An Event That Engages the Entire City
With Lights in Alingsås as its focal point, October has become a month when the entire city gets a boost. In recent years, there has been ever stronger collaboration between local businesses, resulting in numerous positive social and economic effects.
— Concerts, late-night shopping, the running event ‘Running Lights’, and gallery exhibitions are just a few examples. Each year, Lights in Alingsås has a theme that the business community uses as a starting point for new activities. Hotels are fully booked, and restaurants have far more guests than they normally would in October, says Shecko Amoor.
Strong Social Sustainability
Extensive collaboration with Alströmergymnasiet upper secondary school is also central to the event. Students from the electricity and energy programme, sales and service, and the restaurant school’s bakery programme participate each year, gaining valuable experience within their respective fields. For example, the bakery students create an official Lights in Alingsås pastry every year.
— This is social sustainability in practice. The students contribute and can feel proud of something they have created themselves; they gain hands-on experience they can carry with them into the future, says Camilla Broström.
Photo: Patrik Gunnar Helin
Long-Term Development as the Key to Success
Lights in Alingsås has now been running for 26 years. According to the trio from Alingsås Energi, the key to success has been to make gradual improvements without losing sight of the core identity.
— It has been more evolution than revolution. We renew elements step by step — whether themes, music or expression — while staying true to the concept, says Frida Almqvist.
The Lights in Alingsås brand is therefore stronger than ever in 2025.
— It’s about managing what you have built while still daring to take a step forward, concludes Shecko Amoor.