The switch has been thrown; The Bay Lights project has officially been turned on.

Thousands of spectators lined San Francisco’s Embarcadero and other nearby shores or watched online as The Bay Lights artist Leo Villareal gave life to the world's largest light sculpture Tuesday night.

Over 25,000 LED lights have been painstakingly installed on the Bay Bridge’s five-hundred-feet high and 1.8-mile-wide western span. The Bay Lights will stay in place for the next two years, bathing the structure in constantly changing patterns of light.

Crowds who showed up on the night of the debut braved chilly weather and a steady drizzle to catch the unveiling and were mostly in awe as the lights shimmered and danced through the darkness.

“What I’ve seen in my testing is just incredible community that’s been built,” said Bay Lights artist Leo Villareal. “People gather around and start talking about it…that’s just very exciting for me.”

San Francisco’s Mayor Ed Lee seems to be pretty excited about it as well. “We anticipate some 50 million visitors from all over the world to come especially to view this,” said Lee. “Obviously it’s going to complement many of the events that we have and are hosting around the bay.”

The project has already got restaurants with bridge views booked and boat cruise operators creating new tours for viewing the glowing infrastructure. Organizers estimate the lights will bring in $97 million to the local economy.

For more information, visit TheBayLights.org.