Spectacular York Minster light show starts tonight

The show recalls the 1984 blaze and its aftermath and features the voices of the actual fire fighters who fought the original blaze!

A breathtaking new light show at York Minster recounts the night the cathedral nearly went up in flames—and the remarkable efforts to save it.

A year in the making, Phoenix transforms the Minster’s nave into an immersive display of light, color, and sound. Visitors witness lightning striking the cathedral, molten lead cascading from the roof, and the iconic Rose Window shattering, before the story shifts to the restoration effort. The spectacle ends with York Minster standing once again as a symbol of resilience and hope for the city.

This new creation is the work of Ross Ashton and Karen Monid, the team behind the award-winning Northern Lights in 2019 and Platinum and Light in 2022.

Karen began her research by inviting people to share their memories of that fateful night on July 9, 1984, and was overwhelmed by the response. Using audio from the 1980s was no mean feat and took three months of painstaking work to get the audio spot on for the show.

“As I was reading through the incredible memories people shared, they felt like snapshots in time. I could almost hear the voices behind the words,” she said.

“It’s an amazing story, but also a deeply human one. When it happened, the city came together—everyone gave whatever they could, whether it was time, money, or resources. Local businesses stepped up, and the event resonated on a national level. Even the Queen contributed, gifting a tree to help with the roof repairs.”

Ross admitted that condensing all the memories into a 15-minute presentation was challenging.

Watch: Spectacular York Minster light show recalls the 1984 blaze and its aftermath | YorkMix