FIRST LOOK: Christmas At The Botanics 2024 sparkles with Hogwarts magic
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Floating Candles, a jaw-dropping display of dozens of flickering lights, appearing to float overhead along a tree lined section of the dazzling mile-long after-dark trail.
A spellbinding showstopper, conjured up by French studio Pitaya, it evokes the wonder inside the Great Hall dining room at Hogwarts.
The magic doesn’t end there with lots off new of tricks and returning favourites back for an eighth year, transforming Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh into a winter wonderland, now open selected nights to December 30.
BOOK NOW: Visitors are urged to book in advance to guarantee their preferred time slot. Off-peak tickets at lower prices are also available. For all tickets, information, pricing and timings - CLICK HERE.
WATCH VIDEO: Christmas At The Botanics 2024 is 'magical and spectacular' says RBGE's Raoul Curtis-Machin - watch below or click here.
Firework Trees brings a breathtaking light display that sends bursts of colour through tree branches, while Spiral Trees float above the Botanics' pond, their reflections dancing in the shimmering water.
Mycelium Network, colour-changing mushrooms, pulse into life like the human nervous system, highlighting the real underground phenomenon connecting mushrooms, plants and trees.
It's not just entertaining, but an ecology lesson to showcase the Garden's unique landscape and work.
Returning favourites include the towering Christmas Cathedral, an arched church window shaped tunnel of tens of thousands of LEDs, perfect for Instagram moments and proposals, a crackling Fire Garden, the Sea of Light, a sprawling ocean of LEDs that ripple to music, as used by Coldplay at Glastonbury and an unmissable new festive animation projected onto Inverleith House.
Culture Creative, working with UK international artists, have again created the experience for leading events promoter Raymond Gubbay Live, a division of Sony Music, in partnership with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
Low energy lights are used and ticket sale profits support the Garden’s research and conservation efforts in Scotland and globally.
Raoul Curtis-Machin, RBGE's Director of Horticulture and Visitor Experience is hoping the trail will attract a record 100,000 visitors this year.
He said: “If you were to let Harry Potter and his visiting friends loose in garden, this is what you would get. It really is spectacular.
“The lighting experts, these wizards of the garden at night, have pulled out all the stops in the trail's eighth year.
"Floating Candles is amazing, but so are have Spiral Trees floating over the pond and magically in the water. Firework Trees is astonishing, where bursts of colour go up the trees into the sky. It's just astonishing.
"Mycelium Network, which some scientists refer to as the Wood Wide Web, shows real magic in nature. We've realised mycelium threads, ittle fungal networks which connect with roots and sending mysterious, natural messaging underground, inform trees and the plant neighbourhood,about going on.
"So the trail is fun, about making memories, but also educational highlighting the magical connection with the Garden and the work we do here. Visitors get a chance to see these plants, literally, in a different light.
"Ticket sales help towards our plant conservation work globally, in more than 40 different countries.
"It's also as energy efficient as you can get. Around 95 per cent of the lights on the trail are low energy LEDs, no generators are used and even the real Fire Garden does not burn fossil fuels.
” It's an amazing display. The lights will make your heart sing with joy and kick start Christmas for the family.”
Culture Creative's Zoe Bottrell revealed details of his tear’s trail in our exclusive podcast chat with Graham Walker - LISTEN HERE.
Zoe outlines how Installations, designed by a range of international and UK-based artists, to portray the forest in a majestic light, beneath unique canopies drenched in seasonal colour and inspired by the landscape to create a festive adventure for all the family.
LINKS:
Website: www.rbge.org.uk/christmas
My Christmas Trails: www.mychristmastrails.co.uk/events/christmas-at-the-botanics
Facebook: =www.facebook.com/thebotanics
X: @TheBotanics
Instagram: www.instagram.com