ONE of York’s most popular public events will not take place this year.

Illuminating York, which sees venues around the city lit up with a range of light installations, will now take place every two years, and will be merged into an upcoming new festival - the York Mediale.

The Mediale, planned for October 2018, is set to feature large scale commissions, performances, installations and workshops, with international artists taking part, and will take place every two years.

Steve Brown is managing director of Make It York, and said that although Illuminating York will not take place this October, it will be a centrepiece of the Mediale.

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He said: “Illuminating York will be one of the key highlights. This means we’ll be able to pool resources and budget to create something exceptional for York.

“It’s crucial we use what funding we have to create quality festivals and the time is right to think differently about illuminating York, ensuring it meets increasing audience expectations. Running the event biennially, as a key part of the York Mediale will enable us to do that and to focus on delivering a world class event in 2018.”

Angus MacArthur of Gillygate design and homeware shop, Snowhome, has been involved in the festival for the last two years, designing and making dozens of bunnies to place around the route for the Bunny Bingo trail.

He was told about the plans in an email on Wednesday, and while he understood the reason for the change, he was considering some kind of event to keep people interested in the event in the ‘off year’.

Mr MacArthur said: “I’m a little disappointed, I guess, but if it means when it comes back it will be even bigger, better, fresher more exciting than it has been, then I guess that’s a good thing.

“Over the last two years people have been coming and excited by the bunny trail, a fun informal part of the festival and we would like to do something off our own backs to cater to those people. We’re thinking about a secret trail for people to hunt them round the city.” Mat Lazenby is Master of the Guild of Media Arts for 2017, and said he believed the change showed York’s ambition to create a world-renowned festival, and the ‘off years’ would be used to develop ideas further. He said: “It will give us more bang for our buck and create something really remarkable every time. I think people can remember some really remarkable festivals, and some where it didn’t hit the mark for them, and I think the ambition with the Mediale is to produce something which hits the mark every single time.”

Mr Brown said Durham’s Lumiere, which also happens every two years, was “widely regarded as one of the best”.

He said: “Delivering quality festivals needs time, resource and funding and our aim now is to focus on creating the very best international festival for York in 2018. Our commitment to enhancing Illuminating York will be a crucial part of that.”

York Mediale aims to build on York’s status as the only UK city to have the UNESCO City of Media Arts designation, and Make It York has led work with creative director Tom Higham to design the international media arts festival.