Elephantastic! by Topla, design copyright Catherine Garrett, in Regent Street
Some of London's most famous locations will be transformed by light installations for the Lumiere festival.
The free event, which is the biggest festival of its kind ever held in the capital, runs from 18:30 GMT to 22:30 GMT until 17 January.
Thirty locations will be illuminated around Piccadilly, Mayfair, King's Cross, Trafalgar Square and Westminster.
On Regent Street, a life-size animated elephant will appear from a dust cloud.
Janet Echelman's 1.8 London hovers above Oxford Circus
Visitors to Oxford Circus will see the multicoloured cloud of artist Janet Echelman's 1.8 London floating above them.
Patrice Warrener's The Light of the Spirit on the front of Westminster Abbey
Patrice Warrener's The Light of the Spirit projects coloured light onto statues at Westminster Abbey.
And ethereal figures seem to fall through the air in St James's Square, where Cedric Le Borgne is showing Les Voyageurs (The Travellers).
Cedric Le Borgne's Les Voyageurs in St James's Square
The illuminations float over the crowds in Piccadilly
Transport for London (TfL) have warned , externalthat roads will be closed and Tube stations will be busier than usual in the areas where the festival is being held.
A number of buses will be diverted or terminate early.
It has been created by producers Artichoke, who held a similar event in Durham.
As well as a "huge" production crew, the company has recruited volunteers from Team London, which supported the London Olympics, to help guide people around the installations.
"The arts should be free and available to everyone," Artichoke's director Helen Marriage told BBC London.
Aquarium by Benedetto Bufalino and Benoit Deseille, in Grosvenor Square
The lights brighten up some of London's more traditional buildings
- Published9 January 2016
- Published15 September 2015
