Festive fun will officially begin in Worcester at 6pm on Saturday 25 November, when the city's Christmas lights are switched on by two special guests – the Mayor of Worcester and Santa Claus himself!
The two will be accompanied by members of the cast of the Swan Theatre's Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime.
A fun-packed family evening to mark the event will run from 4pm until 7pm with a whole host of entertainment in store for all.
The Mayor of Worcester, Councillor Louis Stephen, said: "Christmas is well on its way and I'm looking forward to switching on the Christmas lights to officially launch the festive season here in Worcester!"
At 4pm on Saturday a Starlight lantern parade will make its way from The Hive to Cathedral Square, where the lights switch-on will take place.
For added festive splendour, the parade will include four lanterns produced by local artist Catt Standen, themed on the famous ballet The Nutcracker. These six-foot lanterns depict the magical Mouse King, the sweet Sugar Plum Fairy, a towering Toy Soldier and the Nutcracker story book.
In Cathedral Square, BBC Hereford and Worcester presenters Elliot Webb and Kate Justice will host live music performances from 4pm until 7pm with acts including Poppy WS, Mike Skilbeck, and The Voice UK semi-finalist Jake of Diamonds. The i-Sing Choir will perform a selection of Christmas songs including Winter Wonderland, Holy Night and Step into Christmas.
The switch-on itself will see around 760,000 LED lights start to twinkle around the city centre, installed in various different ways – including cross-street displays, column displays and zig-zagging in icicles down streets. The lights are all on rubber cables, which, if laid out in a straight line, would measure more than seven kilometres, long enough to go 15 times around the perimeter of a typical cricket pitch.
Some of the lights will also be used to decorate the city's impressive range of traditional Christmas trees. These include two 14ft Norway Spruces outside the Guildhall and a 12ft Nordman Fir in Gheluvelt Park.
The two largest Christmas trees in the city are the 30ft Norway Spruce in Cathedral Square and the 36ft Norway Spruce in New Road on the St John's roundabout.
