Bristol in Pictures: Let there be light

Steve Mellen - BBC News, Bristol
·2 min read
Hundreds of model flamingos are seen in the water in front of City Hall on College Green in Bristol. The picture is taken at night and the building behind the flamingos is lit up with purple, blue and green lights
The Bristol Light Festival has returned to the city, with illuminations across the centre [Andre Pattenden]

There has been a welcome burst of light across Bristol city centre this week as the light festival returned, bringing flamingos to College Green, glowing swings in Queen Square and many more attractions.

Enthusiastic ravers combined their love of music and running to raise money for charity, and there were some new woolly arrivals at one of the animal parks near the city.

Lunar New Year celebrations have also been livening up Bristol as our Chinese communities mark the turning of the season.

A group of people who are part of Ravers to Runners smile at the camera as they pose for a group shot. Some of them are in running gear and some are also wearing bobble hats
[Kayleigh Bricknell @12kmedia]
A group of people who took part in the Ravers2Runners event in Bristol smile as they group together for the camera. Some of them have race numbers pinned to their torsos, and the group is made up of a variety of ages and contains both men and women
[Kayleigh Bricknell @12kmedia]

It's all the rave: Dozens of runners raised money for a homeless charity by taking part in a 'dry' pub crawl, jogging from pub to pub sampling alcohol-free or low alcohol drinks in an event organised by Ravers2Runners.

Two lambs lie on straw at Noah's Ark Zoo Farm near Bristol. One is nuzzling the ear of the other. They are very young lambs and have white faces and cream-coloured wool.
[Noah's Ark Zoo Farm]

Newborns: Noah's Ark Zoo Farm has welcomed some extra residents with the arrival of twin lambs. The north Somerset venue said their births signalled the onset of lambing season and was a "joyful early celebration of spring".

The first two arrivals have been given the names Nik and Nak.

A group of Bristol Bears rugby players huddle together as they celebrate a try against Newcastle. A player is leaping in the air as he joins the group. The match is at Ashton Gate and the players are wearing Bristol's traditional blue and white hooped shirts
[Getty Images]

Happy huddle: Bristol Bears players had plenty of moments to celebrate when they played Newcastle at Ashton Gate, crossing the try line eight times to keep themselves riding high in the table.

Three ballerinas in black and white outfits perform dance moves on stage at The Mount Without in Bristol. They are casting shadows due to spotlights and there is dry ice in the air
[PA Media]

Elegance: Ballerinas from the Bristol Russian Ballet School rehearse for a performance of Giselle in the opening week of Impermanence, Bristol's new dance theatre which is hosted at The Mount Without.

A man in a bright yellow high-vis jacket, black bobble hat and blue jeans walks through an underpass at Bedminster Station in Bristol. All the walls around him have colourful cartoon-style murals on them
[BBC]

New look: Bedminster Station in the south of the city has been brightened up thanks to murals from local artists Lucas Antics and Paul Roberts in a project that saw Upfest and Severnside Community Rail Partnership working together.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge is seen from a higher point in the Avon Gorge on a dry but cloudy day. The river is between high and low tide below the bridge and the North Somerset countryside is visible in the distance
[BBC]

Vantage point: The many people who took a stroll up to the Observatory to gaze down on the Clifton Suspension Bridge did so without the thunder of traffic on the Portway below, as it was closed as trees threatened by ash dieback were cut down along the gorge.

A group of staff at Chinese restaurant Wongs in Bristol pose together for a group shot, all wearing red uniforms of a satin-type material. Behind them is a large dragon created to celebrate the Lunar New Year
[Wongs]

New season: The Chinese community in Bristol has been joining with millions of people around the world in celebrating the Lunar New Year with fireworks and parties, including at Wongs, a city centre institution.

A couple stand outside a business premises in Bristol. On the left is a man with a white top and a blue and white vertically striped apron. He has a dark beard and short dark hair. The other person is a woman with fair shoulder-length hair and a black cardigan on
[SWIG]

Branching out: Bristol bagel baker Wesley Thompson is opening a second branch of The Little Bagel Co, which started on Queen Street. He began his business after taking the plunge in the Covid-19 pandemic and the second branch will be in the city centre, thanks to a loan from SWIG Finance.

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

More Bristol galleries

Latest Stories

  • Four crash victims were university students

    Police are appealing to anyone who may have seen a seen black Ford Focus at the time.

  • Peek inside architect Andrea Perra's exquisite plazzo of Barroque Beauty

    Read how Italian architect Andrea Perra’s exquisite palazzo near Mount Etna, Catania has burst back into vibrant life thanks to his expert care and restoration...

  • Donald Trump has ruptured the Canada-U.S. relationship. To what end? And what comes next?

    Addressing both Canadians and Americans on Saturday night, at one of the most fraught moments in the history of relations between Canada and the United States, Justin Trudeau reminded listeners of John F. Kennedy's words when the late American president addressed Parliament in May 1961."Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies," the prime minister said, quoting Kennedy.Trudeau did not repeat the next sentence

  • JD Vance Backtracks on DEI Slur After Pilot’s Identity Revealed

    Vice President JD Vance appeared to walk back President Donald Trump’s persistent claims that “DEI” policies could be to blame for last week’s deadly D.C. plane crash after the Army released the final pilot’s name. Vance told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday he and Trump believed the Biden administration’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies helped cause a staffing shortage among air traffic controllers, potentially leading to the crash between an American Airlines jet and a military he

  • Farmers Plead ‘Stop Our Fields Flooding’ as Trump Opens Dams

    Officials in California have revealed that President Donald Trump nearly flooded the region’s farms when his administration tried to send an excessive amount of water south, a feat he bragged about on Friday. “Today, 1.6 billion gallons and, in 3 days, it will be 5.2 billion gallons. Everybody should be happy about this long fought Victory!” Trump gloated in a Truth Social post. Over the last month, the president has often pushed for more water to be directed to southern California to help fight

  • Ontario, Quebec and B.C. among provinces pulling U.S. booze from provincial retailers

    Canadian alcohol producers are cheering decisions from several provinces to yank U.S. booze from provincial liquor stores.

  • Jennifer Lopez's Barely-There Mocha Mousse Revenge Dress Plunged to Her Belly Button

    She leaned into a mob wife-coded look at Clive Davis's pre-Grammys party.

  • Canadian Lawmaker Hits Back At Trump, Mar-A-Lago's 'Gangster Class' Over Tariff Threats

    Charlie Angus, a member of Canada's Parliament, suggested his country put tariffs on Elon Musk's "douche Panzer" should Trump follow through on his plans.

  • GOP Pollster Nearly in Tears Over CNN Panel ‘Jumping On Me’

    Veteran Republican pollster Frank Luntz was driven nearly to tears Friday night after his CNN co-panelists took issue with how he dismissed the backlash over President Donald Trump’s comments about DEI hiring and the mid-air crash in Washington, D.C. Appearing on NewsNight With Abby Phillip, Luntz seemed to take things a little too much to heart after the show’s host objected to his argument. Lutz prefaced his comments by saying, “I think I’m alone in this group; I think I’m kind of afraid to be

  • My J6 Neighbor Was Released From Prison By Trump. I'm Furious About What Happened The Day He Got Home.

    “Before his imprisonment, our neighbor didn’t hide the fact that he was a Proud Boy, and our whole neighborhood witnessed the FBI surrounding his property.”

  • 3 Bills You Might Not Have To Pay With Trump as President

    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House is poised to bring significant changes, one of which is bills. If you're worried about having to shell out more money for some bills that might...

  • Senators send Wild a powerful message after hit on Stutzle

    OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators aren’t going to let anyone go after their best players and let them get away with it.

  • Hero Pilot ‘Disgusted’ But ‘Not Surprised’ By Trump’s Response to D.C. Crash

    One of the nation’s most famous pilots had some choice words for President Donald Trump for seemingly blaming diversity, equity, and inclusion for the fatal mid-air collision in Washington, D.C. earlier this week. Known for his sanguine manner and aversion to partisan politics, Chelsey ‘Sully’ Sullenberger hit back against the Republican president on MSNBC’s The Last Word on Thursday as host Lawrence O’Donnell asked him for his take on the tragedy. “I don’t want to draw you into politics, but if

  • Noem defends tariffs: ‘These countries have an opportunity to get on board’

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Sunday that Mexico, Canada and China have an “opportunity” to partner with the U.S. to stem the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigration. In an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” Noem defended President Trump’s decision to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada and a…

  • Watch Canadian Hockey Fans Boo The U.S. National Anthem Following Trump Tariff News

    Crowds in Ottawa and Calgary had similar reactions to "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to NHL games this weekend.

  • Trump Orders Schools to Ease Sex Assault Rules

    Donald Trump rammed through new Title IX rules for federally funded K-12 schools and colleges Friday—dramatically changing how they deal with sex assault claims and LGBT students. It was the latest in his sweeping executive actions, and reshapes how educators have to interpret Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded educational programs. The new policy, announced on Friday, resuscitates the Title IX policy changes Trump implemented in 2018 during his first term. It reduc

  • 'We need to get home': Calgary WestJet passengers stranded in Cancun

    It’s been an extended stay in Mexico for hundreds of WestJet passengers — but not one they planned for. “Over the past two days, [we] have spent almost 16 hours at the airport and being shuttled around,” explained Alim Kara, who had been on vacation with his wife and two sons — ages of 6 years, and 18 months. “We have two very tired unwell kids due to two days of being stuck in the airport with no answers about what is happening.” Kara, his family and dozens of other passengers arrived at Cancun International Airport Thursday afternoon, ready for WestJet flight WS2249 to take them home. After two small, hour-long delays, passengers learned their flight was cancelled – and headed back to their hotel about 6 hours after first leaving.

  • Acting on Trump's order, federal officials opened up two California dams

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers just opened up two California dams. A spokesperson says the flows are 'controlled' and being coordinated with local officials.

  • Mexico Pledges Tariffs on US While Calling for Cooperation

    (Bloomberg) -- Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks global trade. Sign up here.Most Read from BloombergWhen French Communists Went on a Brutalist Building BoomHow the 2025 Catholic Jubilee Is Reshaping RomeTrump Paves the Way to Deputize Local Police on ImmigrationNew York’s First ‘Passive House’ School Is a Model of Downtown DensityHistoric London Elevator Faces Last Stop in Labour’s Housing PushMexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum is readying counter-tariffs against the US after Pres

  • Darius Rucker Reveals He Has Moved Out of the U.S. After Previously Teasing He Was ‘Doing a Thing’

    The Grammy-winning country star and South Carolina native announced the news in an Instagram post on Thursday, Jan. 30