World's Largest Light Show Illuminates 12km of WA Coast

Imagine 750 LED lights painting a 12-kilometer stretch of coastline in colors inspired by ancient traditions and the night sky itself.

That's exactly what's happening in Albany, Western Australia, where Finnish light artist Kari Kola has created the world's largest light installation. The show, called Lighting the Sound, transforms King George Sound into a glowing canvas visible across the city's southern coast.

Kola spent two years planning the massive display, which celebrates Albany's bicentennial. What started as a much smaller concept grew into a record-breaking spectacle using 750 LED lights and 15 red pencil beams to illuminate the night.

The artist drew his inspiration from an unexpected source: the bloodroot plant sacred to the Menang people, the region's traditional owners. "I found the bloodroot plant and the Menang people, and everything started from there," Kola explained. "I took the colors from the plant itself and combined the ancient times, 200 years, present times, the land and the cosmos."

The collaboration with Menang elders turned the light show into something deeper than spectacle. Menang and Nadju woman Carol Pettersen, who consulted on the project, says the installation gives Indigenous voices a place in the bicentennial celebrations. "Much of our story has been missing from the history books about our contribution in terms of social, economic and spiritual stories," she said.

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

The nine-night installation is doing more than illuminating the sky. Local officials estimate the three-weekend event will attract 15,000 visitors each weekend, pumping between $30 and $40 million into Albany's economy. Hotels are booked solid, restaurants are buzzing, and photographers have traveled hundreds of kilometers to capture the display.

Kola, known for similar installations at Stonehenge and Ireland's Connemara Mountains, says this is his largest project worldwide. Finland's Ambassador to Australia, Arto Happea, praised the artist's unique capability. "He was not very modest when he said he's the only person in the world who can do something at this scale," Happea noted.

The lights shift and transform as darkness falls, creating different experiences throughout each evening. Spectators line the shore with cameras and phones, capturing the full spectrum of colors dancing across the water and sky.

Sometimes the brightest moments come from combining ancient wisdom with modern technology to create something no one has ever seen before.