14 Hours of The Bay Lights (Longest Night of 2020)

Many people view the winter solstice grimly as the shortest day of the year, but The Bay Lights, the world’s largest LED light sculpture, offers us a brighter outlook.

We can now relish winter solstice as the longest night of the year because The Bay Lights will shimmer for more than 14 hours from dusk ’til dawn, reflecting a sustained expression of love, generosity and community.

14 Hours of The Bay Lights
Monday, December 21, 2020 | 4:54 pm to 7:22 am (approx)
The Bay Bridge
FREE to watch (of course)

Sunset/Sunrise times from timeanddate.com

The Bay Lights is an iconic San Francisco light sculpture by artist Leo Villareal, comprised of 25,000 individually programmed white LED lights to create a never repeating, dazzling display across the north side of the Bay Bridge west span. Originally installed as a temporary two-year artwork, this monumental tour de force was made permanent in February 2016. The Bay Lights is 1.8 miles wide and 500 feet high, and shines nightly from dusk to dawn as a gift to the people of California, thanks to the generosity of private donors and nonprofit presenting organization Illuminate. As amazing as The Bay Lights sculpture is, the fascinating story of turning this seeming impossibility into reality is even more so: Impossible Light, a documentary produced by Jeremy Ambers, tells the dramatic tale of turning a shimmering imagination into a glimmering spectacle.

Best Viewing: Views of this iconic artwork are best along San Francisco’s Embarcadero north of the Bay Bridge, from the Ferry Building to Pier 33. Vantage points abound throughout the city, and the Marin waterfront and hills. The Bay Lights is not clearly visible from Treasure Island or the East Bay due to the western orientation of the light strands.