First Bus has teamed up with Scotland’s Festival of Light for the second year running to offer free bus travel to Spectra visitors.
With an apt festival theme of Journeys this year, up to two thousand two-trip tickets have been made available, allowing visitors to claim free travel for First Bus services, as they make their way to and from Spectra on their chosen date.
The festival, owned and commissioned by Aberdeen City Council, will return from February 6 to February 9, with a packed programme of 15 art light installations, and a wide range of supporting activations, from fire street performances to dancers and musicians.
From a giant moon apparently removed from its orbit and lassoed to a boat, to a dreamy inflatable light castle, and an enormous illuminated slinky toy installation, there’ll be a wide range of artworks for people of all ages to enjoy.
Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s Culture spokesperson, said: “Spectra draws in thousands of visitors to the city centre each year. It’s fantastic to be partnering with First Bus again, after the free travel offer proved so popular in 2024, to allow visitors to travel to and from the festival in a sustainable way.
“We’re looking forward to the festival getting underway, as it truly shines a spotlight on everything Aberdeen has to offer. We hope that visitors take advantage of this offer and enjoy both the fantastic artworks and other performances, as well as the hospitality of our city centre businesses.”
David Adam, Operations Manager for First Bus in Aberdeen, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Spectra once again to offer sustainable travel to up to two thousand visitors going to-and-from the festival.
“Events like Spectra, which bring so many people to Aberdeen city centre, are fantastic for everyone and captures the imagination while showing off some of Aberdeen’s most iconic buildings in a new, exciting way.”
Now in its 11th year, the celebration of light, art and creativity is now firmly established in Scotland’s event calendar, having grown in the past decade, from an initial audience of 10,000 at a single site to attracting over 100,000 visits over four days in 2024 and contributing £2.6 million in visitor spend to the local economy.
Those interested in claiming the free travel offer are encouraged to sign-up to the Spectra mailing list by 12pm on Monday 3 February. Details will then be shared with instructions on how to claim a two-trip ticket which will be redeemable through the First Bus app, per app user during the festival dates from 6 to 9 February. More information on how to claim the offer is available at: http://www.spectrafestival.com/
Check out the full line-up for Spectra here: http://www.spectrafestival.com/