daan roosegaarde and UNESCO switch off a dutch city's lights to see the stars as heritage

daan roosegaarde + UNESCO netherlands BRING BACK THE NIGHT SKY

more than 80% of the world’s population lives under light-polluted skies; a barrier preventing us from experiencing the beauty of the universe. in ‘seeing stars’, daan roosegaarde and UNESCO netherlands have come up with a solution to bring the night sky back to the people. the project achieves this by switching off all non-essential household lights, billboards, and street lights in collaboration with the residents, government, and businesses of the city of franeker. by removing this light pollution on a city-wide scale, ‘seeing stars’ enables everyone to reconnect with the universe and experience the magic of starlight again.

‘everyone is now in their own little bubble, disconnected from each other,’ explains roosegaarde. ‘I realised that every night, there is an amazing light performance hidden up high in our sky. what if we switch off all the lights in a city, so we can enjoy the stars together? seeing stars brings back the stars in your street. the stars are only one switch away.’

all images: seeing stars by studio roosegaarde
photography by albert dros and merel tuk
movie by mediamonks and studio roosegaarde

seeing stars as a form of universal heritage

UNESCO netherlands aims to recognise seeing stars as a form of universal heritage. by switching off the lights in franeker together with daan roosegaarde and UNESCO netherlands bring the stars back to create a sense of connection between people, something which, according to the project, ‘we are still missing in this COVID-19 pandemic.’ the first ‘seeing stars’ project was realized and recorded in the dutch city, reflecting its rich astronomical history, and aims to travel to other places, such as leiden, sydney, venice, stockholm, and reykjavik. the project’s movie premiere launches today, december 14, and seeks to create a sense of connection, not only with our community, but also with our planet.

‘everybody should have the right to see the stars through an unpolluted night sky,’ notes kathleen ferrier, chairperson of the netherlands commission for UNESCO. ‘looking at the stars makes you feel connected to each other, we are all part of the immense cosmos. this is the communal and universal heritage I strive for. seeing stars is an important step forward.’

UNESCO, nacht van het wad, earth hour, nacht van de nacht, and the international dark-sky association have all previously advocated moments of darkness to increase human and animal well-being. ‘seeing stars’ is part of this movement and acts as a radical premiere which is focussed on viewing the stars in your city. the launch of the film ‘seeing stars’ marks the third project of the series ‘dreamscapes’ by studio roosegaarde and partners UNESCO netherlands, media.monks, visit friesland, visit wadden, and the city of franeker.

lights on in the city of franeker