AT THE ROYAL ARMOURIES MUSEUM

The Royal Armouries will be creating a magnificent menagerie of illuminated animals for the 2021 Light Night Leeds.

Taking inspiration from the museum’s collection, such as its famous Elephant Armour, giant animal puppets will light up Armouries Square outside the museum for evening performances on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 October.

The Royal Armouries is working with renowned West Yorkshire artists Handmade Parade to bring the collection of arms and armour to life in a new way and celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the museum opening in Leeds.

Visitors will enjoy the wonderful spectacle of giant, moving animal puppets in outdoor promenade performances, accompanied by live music and lit up for all to see. This free event is part of the city-wide Light Night Leeds event which will see over 40 eye-catching installations as the festival welcomes back visitors in 2021.

The Royal Armouries Museum Menagerie links to this year’s Light Night theme Back to Nature, which celebrates some of the world’s natural wonders and reflects the spectacular biodiversity of the animal kingdom, plants, trees and weather.

This follows on from the success of Light Night 2019 when the Royal Armouries partnered with Handmade Parade to create ‘Light Knight’ when thousands saw giant knight puppets battle it out.

Light Knight puppets in 2019, image credit Charlotte Graham

More information about Royal Armouries Light Night 2021 can be found on their website.

The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds has welcomed back thousands of visitors safely since reopening on 19 May. The museum is continuing to follow COVID-19 guidance for the safety for staff and visitors. Measures include limiting visitor numbers, additional cleaning procedures and wearing face coverings