LEDs formed into cathedral of light

One of the world's most impressive and unique LED displays has been created in the Belgian town of Ghent, by Italian company Luminaire De Cagna this month and it is already drawing crowds from far and wide.

Over 55,000 individual LEDs were used in the making of the structure, which was designed to emulate the look of a renaissance cathedral.

Of course the stonework and frescoes were replaced with a light wooden framework and the whole thing towers 28 metres into the sky over the main thoroughfare through the town.

The LED display has been rigged up in order to celebrate a festival of light, the theme of which this year is happiness. In the past lamps fuelled by oil would have been arranged on the exteriors of buildings in the town, but fire concerns make this impossible to achieve in the modern world.

This means that LED displays are the perfect alternative and they are often draped across buildings using a mesh which holds them in place. Nothing so far has matched the same level of intricacy and detail as the LED cathedral created this year.

What is perhaps most impressive about the LED display from a technical point of view is that it only consumes 20Kwh of electricity, which means it is also one of the greenest light shows on earth.

The LED cathedral will be in place for the rest of the month and is likely to attract plenty of attention in the region surrounding the town. It has, unsurprisingly, made the international news and so could even be a talking point for travellers from further afield.

LEDs are the perfect accompaniment for any modern festival of lights since they keep the spirit of long standing traditions but integrate new, green technology.