A spectacular lights festival which illuminates the heart of Aberdeen during the winter has been nominated for a string of awards.
Spectra is in contention for four gongs at the Drum Scottish Events Awards, which will be held in Glasgow next month.
It has been shortlisted in festival of the year, cultural event of the year, large event of the year and team of the year categories.
About 65,000 visits were recorded at installations in Aberdeen across four nights in February.
A popular attraction this year was Cloud, an interactive sculpture featuring 6,000 incandescent light bulbs, by Canadian artists Caitlyn Brown and Wayne Garret.
And a light installation, filling St Nicholas Kirkyard with stick figure spiders, also proved a hit.
The extravaganza has been staged by arts organisation Curated Place, for the council, and involves local and international artists.
Curated Place director, Andy Brydon, said the awards nominations were a boost as he and his team plan ahead to next year’s event.
He added: “It is fantastic to have the growing success of Spectra recognised.
“In 2018, we will expand the festival, which is rapidly becoming a destination event.”
The local authority’s cultural spokeswoman, Marie Boulton, was delighted by news of the nominatioons.
She said: “I know from firsthand experience that the nominations are richly deserved, given the sheer hard work and creativity that went into making Spectra an even bigger success this year.
“The city is justifiably proud of our renaissance as a thriving centre for culture within the UK.
“The challenge now is to build on our success and to make Aberdeen an essential destination for lovers of culture everywhere.”
