Preparations for the festive season are well underway in Leicester, and now the date for the city’s annual Christmas light switch-on has been announced. Stars for the line-up include RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Divina De Campo, who is set to bring extra sparkle to the city’s biggest winter event.
Leicester City Council’s lighting team will begin installing 16,000 twinkling lights this week, covering Town Hall Square and 20 city centre streets. Teams will work at dawn and on weekends to avoid disrupting commuters and shoppers.
Joining the dazzling decorations will be a towering 15-metre Christmas tree from Kielder Forest in Northumberland. The tree is due to arrive in the second week of November, when it will take pride of place next to the Clock Tower.
The switch-on celebration will take place on Wednesday, November 20, as BBC Radio Leicester’s Ady Dayman teams up with Leicester Apprentice star and DJ Virdi Singh Mazaria to host the celebrations. The duo will be joined by RuPaul star Divina De Campo, fresh from her starring role as the Wicked Queen in Snow White, alongside pantomime dame Jack Ballard for the grand illumination at 6.30pm.
Adding to this year’s festivities is Leicester’s first-ever dedicated Christmas Market on Gallowtree Gate, running from Thursday, November 14 until Saturday, December 29. The 35-metre Wheel of Light will return to dominate Jubilee Square’s skyline from Friday, November 8, while thrill-seekers can take to the ice when the all-weather rink opens its doors on Tuesday December 5.
Councillor Vi Dempster, assistant city mayor for culture, said: “Our lighting team is working hard to make sure that Leicester looks magical in time for our big switch-on.”
The switch-on night, which drew 25,000 visitors last year, will also feature a funfair on Humberstone Gate and a 15-piece nutcracker marching band parading through the city streets. In Town Hall Square, brass bands and choirs will be performing from 5pm until 8pm beneath the glow of thousands of twinkling lights.