Bournemouth: Gigantic glowing portal opens on resort's beach

A towering, illuminated archway has made an entrance on a resort's beach.

Standing 15m (49ft) high, rectangular art installation Portal has been put up on Bournemouth Beach as part of the town's Arts by the Sea Festival.

Lined with lights that glow and create displays, the vast structure has been positioned to frame sunrise or sunset.

The eye-catching structure opened to the public at sunrise. Visitors can walk through the archway 24 hours a day until 4 October.

Its creators, design studio Lucid Creates, said: "The artwork can be enjoyed from afar as well as from within.

"Viewers are drawn to the towering light display, and invited to enter the portal allowing them to experience the transcendental audio-visual show from inside the sculpture."

The town's three-day Arts by the Sea Festival takes place across Bournemouth, including its gardens and beach from 29 September to 1 October.

The festival is set to feature 100 local and national bands, choirs, and performers street theatre and large-scale art and creative workshops.

The theme for this year's festival is "moment".

Organisers said: "With modern life we often find ourselves too busy to take time for ourselves.

"At the festival, your moment could be watching someone whirl through the air, losing yourself on the dancefloor, learning a new skill, clapping with joy, feeling the sand underneath you or taking a deep breath in nature."

The free annual event, which started in 2011, is funded by Arts Council England and BCP Council is expected to attract 120,000 visitors.

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