Thousands to greet Santa for Derry's Christmas lights switch on
The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Elisha McCallion, will be on hand to greet him as he flies in from the North Pole on Thursday night.
Speaking ahead of the event, which is expected to attract thousands, she encouraged everyone to come along to give Santa a warm Derry welcome. “I’m so looking forward to meeting Santa when he pays a special visit to the city this week. I know there will be a great turn out on the night, and plenty of entertainment for all the family to get us in the mood for a lovely Christmas.
“Santa has a very busy schedule at this time of year so it’s fantastic that he is able to take the time out to visit the children of Derry and Strabane, and I hope we will give him a very warm welcome.”
All the fun will be taking place in the Guildhall Square and Waterloo Place with live entertainment and plenty of animation from 6.00pm.
Radio Foyle’sMark Patterson will be MC for the event which include live music from the band Sensation.
Santa is due to arrive at 7.00pm before the official Switch On at 7.15pm with the Mayor and children from Jamie’s Journey with the music and fun continuing until 8.00pm.
There will also be plenty of entertainment in Waterloo Place where where the Switch On will be relayed on the live screen.
There will be live music and a whole host of colourful characters, including Elsa from Frozen, who will perform live.
Santa himself will magic his way from the North Pole via Guildhall Square to say hello! The Enchanted Peace Garden on Foyle Street will also be open to the public from 4pm-8pm. Children will have the opportunity to meet some of their favourite winter characters and have their faces painted ahead of the big Lights Switch On.
While there are no plans to close roads for the Switch On, large crowds are expected on the night and some streets are expected to be highly congested for the duration of the event.
The streets most likely to be impacted on Thursday evening are Shipquay Place, Foyle Street and the Strand Road between Sackville Street and William Street. Council will be working in close partnership with the police and local businesses to minimise any disruption, but it is advised that there may be some disruption during the evening.
With many families, and particularly young children, expected to attend motorists are asked to be extremely careful when driving within the vicinity of the event in the city centre.