Bay Bridge Lights Returning In 2025: Reports

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — San Francisco’s about to get a little bit brighter: around March 2025, the sorely-missed Bay Lights will once again light up the Bay Bridge, according to numerous reports.

For nearly a decade, the western side of the Bay Bridge sparkled with the glow of 25,000 LED lights putting on a nightly show. But ten years of rain, wind, salt, and exhaust took a heavy toll on the lights, and by 2023, Illuminate, the public art nonprofit that runs them, said they were deteriorating faster than they could be fixed. In March 2023, Illuminate said it would be stopping the lights until it could raise $11 million for the necessary repairs.

In just over a year, Illuminate has managed to raise those funds entirely from private donations, rather than corporate or city funds. Illuminate is preparing to launch a revamped project called “Bay Lights 360” that will feature 50,000 lights, twice as many as before. Soon, the light show will appear on both sides of the bridge, and be seen from San Francisco, Marin, and the East Bay. Illuminate hired Leo Villareal, the artist behind the original lights, to create new light designs that never repeat, using higher-quality bulbs. The new lights are being custom-made to stand up better to the elements, and ensure that if one bulb goes out, the others won’t be affected.

“The Bay Lights have created magic in our City, and it is fantastic news that this project will have renewed life spanning our beautiful bay,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement shared with NBC. “This city is experiencing a resurgence of joy, and organizations like Illuminate and projects like The Bay Lights are helping to enliven our city and inspire our residents and visitors. I want to thank Illuminate for their work to lift up our city, as well as all the philanthropists who helped to make this project a reality.”