Celebrations marking the close of Cambridge University’s 800th Anniversary year began tonight with a colourful light-show illuminating Senate House and King's College.

Thousands of visitors from the University and the public were expected to attend the free show, which has a planned three-night run.

The light show, entitled "Transforming Tomorrow" and designed by world-renowned light artist Ross Ashton, draws its inspiration from the range of life-changing research which is currently being conducted at the University. Colourful images projected onto the iconic buildings of Senate House, the Old Schools, the Gibbs Building and King's College Chapel are inspired by the wide variety of academic work being undertaken here.

Each building's display has its own distinctive theme, with visitors being invited on a circular route through Senate Passage to witness them all. "Blurring The Boundaries", on Senate House and Old Schools, examines the interactions between the arts and the sciences; animated images of skeletons, fish and birds flit across the buildings. Images and videos depicting Cambridge Blues sporting events, and revolving words taken from students' PhD thesis titles, are designed to demonstrate the diversity of achievements at the University.

"Nano", projected onto King’s Chapel, features an array of images from the Cambridge Nanoscience Centre. "Proteins to Planets", on the Gibbs Building, will illustrate the range of research in the physical sciences taking place at Cambridge, from galaxies and nebulae to fruit flies and plant cells. Revolving globes projected by lasers onto the Tower of Great St Mary’s Church and in the First Court of King’s College are meant to highlight the global significance of Cambridge.

This light show is a more elaborate version of the highly successful light show which marked the beginning of the anniversary year exactly 12 months ago. That show, which gained global media coverage, focused on the history of the University.

Professor Jeremy Sanders, Chair of the 800th Anniversary Committee, described this year's light show as “extraordinary and wonderful”. He assessed the anniversary year, which has been three years in the planning, as “successful beyond any of our imaginations”.

Speaking to Varsity, Professor Sanders expanded on the theme of the show, describing how “Cambridge transforms the people who work and study here”, and how “it transforms the world through the ideas it produces”.

He went on to describe how the planning for the show had involved figures from the University and city, and, he believed, had strengthened the relationship with the local community. Images have been selected specifically to appeal to target audiences within the city and the University, with a lot of work being done to incorporate local school children into the event.

The light show will run from 6.30pm until 10pm on the nights of 16, 17 and 18 January, and is free and open to the public.