A glow in the dark fun run, returning to Australia for the first time in seven years, is set to light up Parramatta Park.
The ILLUMI Run will paint the town neon later this year, bringing together live DJs, four distinct glow zones and a neon-splashed 5km run.
Since it first debuted in Singapore in 2013, the ILLUMI Run has been held in 12 different cities across four countries.
Over 129,000 runners have already run, danced and glowed their way along the 5km route, with the event coming to Parramatta Park on November 18.
ILLUMI Run Managing Director Luke Hannan said the event is the perfect combination of a fun run, a dance festival and a night out with your mates.
“The ILLUMI Run is all about having fun with your mates, there’s no timing, it’s about taking as much time as you want on the course, going through the four different illuminated zones that we have at each kilometre on the course,” he told Parra News.
“At those illuminated zones we’re going to have heaps of volunteers, they’re going to be spraying everyone with glow water.”
“We have UV lights all across the course and, especially when you get back in the village and festival, the white t-shirt that you get given in your entry kit is just completely illuminated under those lights.”
The four glow zones are designed to encourage runners to stop for a dance and a party. Crazy Laser Zone 1 includes UV lighting and EDM music, Neon Life Zone 2 has disco music and neon décor and Bubble Pop Zone 3 is dedicated to bubbles and KPop.
The last zone, Glo Mania Zone 4, has even more paint splashes, UV lighting and a DJ who will be playing the latest hits.
But the fun doesn’t stop after the run, with Hannan saying the ILLUMI Run is one of the only events where “you actually burn more calories at the dance party”.
“As you get back into the festival, we have a big stage, we have a DJ, a MC, and we’ll be doing giveaways, dance offs, as well as these massive colour bursts that we have coming out of our canons,” he said.
“This is the first of these types of events that have really come back since COVID.”
With pre-sale tickets available from July 13, Hannan said he is happy to be finally bringing the event back.
“[Parramatta is] even more central than what Sydney Olympic Park is in our opinion, where we can get all these communities who at any other time have to travel 45 minutes to get into the city on public transport,” he said.
“Now, it’s just around the corner on their doorstep.”
To find out more go to http://www.illumifestival.com.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.