A lifting apparatus for lifting and lowering loads, having a lifting arrangement, on which a load-bearing member is arrangeable, having a drive arrangement which moves the load-bearing member up and down, having a control arrangement which activates the drive arrangement and one or more lighting arrangements, wherein each lighting arrangement has a working-area lighting and an operating-state-display lighting for displaying at least one operating state, and in that each lighting arrangement is activated by the control arrangement in a working-area lighting mode or an operating-state display lighting mode or in both modes.