Albany 2026: Kari Kola midway through constructing Lighting the Sound, the world’s biggest light installation

Preparations, including the building of 13 towers across a 10km length of the King George Sound shoreline, are well under way for the spectacular Lighting the Sound, the centrepiece of the Albany 2026 bicentenary celebrations.

Finnish artist Kari Kola is in town to oversee the construction of the scaffolding towers and the LED lights which will illuminate 10 million square metres of the stunning landscape – the biggest light installation the world has ever seen.

It’s been said it will be visible from space — a theory Kola is testing by booking a satellite to film the show, which starts on March 13.

Preparations were ahead of schedule, he said on Wednesday morning.

“We are in front of our timetable and it is going really well,” he said during power testing.

“We will complete the building of the towers today and we have put in 700 light sources over the last two days.”

Kola promises a spectacular show.

“I think people will be surprised,” he said.

“It is going to be bigger than big.”

The towers range in height from 6m to 20m, with Kola keen to minimise the impact on Torndirrup National Park’s flora and fauna as well as make sure trees and bush don’t block the lights.

His equipment fits into one container, and he has used local people to build the towers and to help with set-up.

Only the generators, which will power each tower, come from Perth.

“We will leave no trace we were here, no markings,” he said.

“We always want to minimise the impact on local wildlife.

“The light sources will be high up, so no animals get blinded, and the lights are custom-made.

“We use primarily red and green colours because they are best for insects – no white light, and UV would be disastrous.”

With the Albany installation poised to set a new world best, it will be another Kola project which will be surpassed.

He lit up the Connemara mountains in Ireland in 2020 with his Savage Beauty installation, but the show in Albany is set to dwarf that effort.

The first time Kola will view his spectacular project will be when he switches it on, on March 13.

“We will turn it on during the day and it will gradually come to life as it gets darker,” he said.

“It will be the first time I will see it myself – and I will be 8km away in the city,” he said.

The event is presented by arts not-for-profit FORM Building a State of Creativity and will run across nine days from March 13-15, 20-22 and 27-29.

The best views will be from the city.