First Light Festival have announced this year’s full line-up & event programme spanning music, art & culture, comedy, science and much more, returning to Lowestoft’s South Beach across Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June 2024.
Championing local and emerging talent alongside a plethora of international artists with inclusivity and sustainability at its heart, First Light is making its name as the ultimate showcase for cosmopolitan creative talent, accessible to all. This year sees First Light shine a light and showcase a programme of incredible female-led talent including headliners from across the music and entertainment industry with, DJ and broadcaster Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, one of the country’s finest comedians Shaparak Khorsandi and award-winning poet Hollie McNish.
2024 also sees their first partnership with Latitude festival, whereby one chosen act from those selected to perform on the New Dawn stage at First Light, will be given the opportunity to also perform at Latitude festival.
As Lowestoft is the most Easterly point of the UK (gaining the first light of the day), this year’s festival takes inspiration from the Cardinal Points to allow a strong focus on our location. The theme of north, south, east and west will be threaded through the artistic programme, with a strong international line-up with a very cosmopolitan flavour.
The festival will run from 12pm noon to sundown (9.30pm) on Saturday, and from 10am – 4pm on Sunday, with a Dawn sunrise programme from 3.30am on Sunday morning. Additional late-night events will take the celebration to several different Lowestoft venues.
Commenting on the festival’s impact Cllr Toby Hammond, East Suffolk Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “East Suffolk Council is incredibly proud to be a partner of the First Light Festival and to have provided half a million pounds in part funding for the past three years. The festival is one of the country’s great artistic and cultural events and goes from strength to strength every year.
With so many people coming to Lowestoft, and even the region, for the first time, it single-handedly makes an incredible contribution to the local tourism economy, helping to showcase the area and its unique beauty. We can’t wait for this year’s event and the opportunity to welcome thousands of people to our beautiful beaches and seafront. It’s going to be yet another amazing and memorable weekend.”
