The River of Light festival has been cancelled for the second night in a row due to extreme weather conditions. The annual free light trail, which showcases artwork across Liverpool city centre, will not run this evening (Saturday, October 24) because of Storm Boelo.
Featuring 13 new light installations, this year's festival has the theme 'Together', with displays at Williamson Square, St Paul's Square, Liverpool Pier Head, Exchange Flags, Royal Albert Dock and Liverpool ONE. Its return was already cancelled last night (Friday, October 23) due to the strong winds and heavy rain of Storm Austen.
Organisers confirm second cancellation
Visit Liverpool, the event organisers, had urged potential visitors to "keep an eye on its social channels for any further updates over the weekend". A statement issued on X in the last few minutes confirmed the trail will not be active tonight.
The post said: "Due to further adverse weather conditions caused by Storm Boelo, this evening's (October 24) River of Light event has been cancelled in the interests of safety. Please keep an eye on our social channels tomorrow for any further event updates."
Other events affected by the weather
The weather forecast has already led to the cancellation of Cream Classical at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral today, as well as the Lark Lane and Tuebrook markets. There are also doubts about whether tomorrow's Halloween fun day at Aintree Racecourse will take place.
The Met Office has said strong winds will spread across northern parts of the UK this afternoon, combining with spells of heavy rain. Initially strong southerly winds will affect parts of Scotland before more widespread and even stronger westerly winds develop later on Saturday.
Forecast for Liverpool
In Liverpool, the Met Office has forecast light rain will start at 9am this morning, with wind speeds of 23mph. From 12pm, the rain will get heavier and wind speeds will be at 35mph. These speeds will increase to 40mph by 1pm, before climbing to between 45mph and 49mph for the rest of the day. The rain is forecast to stop by 9pm this evening.
Temperatures will hover between 9C and 15C, although it will feel several degrees colder due to the wind and the rain. A weather warning is in place from 12pm until tomorrow at 9pm, and organisers say further updates on River of Light will be posted on social channels tomorrow.
