Europe's first large-scale edition of WaterFire, the annual summer event that lights up Providence in the North American state of Rhode Island, comes to Rome on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 September.

From 19.00 until midnight, the river Tiber will be illuminated by 30 floating fires between Ponte Sisto and Ponte Mazzini (the next bridge upstream), accompanied by the music and choreography of Moveable Space, with dance by Rome-based Los Angeles choreographer Linda Foster and an installation by artist Robert Hammond.

The space between the bridges will be transformed into a virtual "Piazza Tevere" as defined by the New York artist Kristin Jones from Tevereterno, an international multidisciplinary organisation which produces cultural events to promote the potential and renewal of the Tiber.

The event's artistic director Barnaby Evans said “I cannot think of a more magical place to introduce WaterFire to Europe."

Supported by the capital and sponsored by the American Academy of Rome, the event will come to life with the help of volunteers from Providence and Rome, including students from the Rhode Island School of Design in Rome.

Since its inaugural edition in 1994, WaterFire has attracted 15 million people at events in Providence and other US cities, as well as in Singapore.