Music
Ideas
Performing Arts
Comedy
Worship and Spirituality
Children and Family
Visual Arts
DJ
Remote
Festival Friends
Literature, Poetry & Spoken Word
Workshop
Youth
Shining at the heart of the Glade Arena this year stands a striking symbol of resistance and resilience — a scale replica of the Gaza Lighthouse.
The original tower was built from the rubble left by Israel’s 2012 assault on Gaza. Designed and constructed by acclaimed Gazan artist Shareef Sarhan, it stood 15 metres tall on the breakwater of Gaza’s once-thriving fishing harbour — a defiant act of creativity and beauty amid devastation. It became a powerful piece of resistance art and a beacon of hope to all who saw it.
A symbol of possibility and defiance, the iconic Lighthouse was destroyed in the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 attacks — like so much of Gaza, obliterated in the relentless bombardment that followed.
Exiled in Paris and unable to return home, Shareef responded in the only way he knew: by rebuilding. What you see here is the result — a work of grief, memory and fierce creative resistance — brought to Greenbelt by our friends at Amos Trust.
At the top of the Lighthouse is a light which we will switch on at the start of the festival and turn off at the end. In between, it will stand — bright and unblinking — a call to remember, to mourn, to stand in solidarity, and to act for justice, freedom and dignity for all Palestinians.
We want the Lighthouse to serve as a constant creative reminder of what has unfolded since October 2023 — a live-streamed genocide unfolding in full view of the international community.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to deepen. As it becomes ever more appalling, we stand in solidarity with all Palestinians who continue to live life, whether in the hell of Gaza, under the tightening grip of Occupation in the West Bank and Jerusalem or in the camps of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Take time this weekend to pause at the foot of the Lighthouse. Read the numbers. Take in the facts. Reflect — and commit to act for peace and justice — for equal rights, for freedom, for dignity — in the hope that, just maybe, the darkest hour really does come just before the dawn.