Albany 2026: Wet weather no obstacle for thousands of punters enjoying opening night of Lighting the Sound

Albany’s Anzac Peace Park was packed full of eager spectators on Friday for the first night of Lighting the Sound, with punters coming equipped with ponchos, rain jackets and umbrellas to wait out the rain.

The clouds gathered before sunset as the debut of the much-anticipated Lighting the Sound was set to begin, and those set up on the grass at the Peace Park were not dampened by a few heavy showers of rain.

The weather did not seem to deter many, as the foreshore slowly filled with locals and visitors waiting to see Kari Kola’s spectacular display light up Torndirrup National Park.

There were plenty of opportunities to grab some hot food or a drink with food trucks lining the perimeter of the park and The Dam’s pop-up beer garden providing a great spot to sit down and settle in with a drink to watch the lights.

Pubs and cafes on Stirling Terrace were also buzzing as people took the opportunity to venture into town and peruse the wares on sale in the market stalls or stop for a meal before the show kicked off.

When the green and red light beams started to emerge through the heavy cloud cover, scores of people flocked to the rocks at the water’s edge to get an uninterrupted view of the beams spreading across the sky and reflecting off the water of Princess Royal Harbour.

The world-record illumination lit up the Albany sky on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and will continue for the same three nights of the next two weekends, headlining the city’s bicentenary celebrations.