Nine-year-old Felicity Chan from Loughborough switched on the Christmas lights. Photo shows - from left: Lead member for economic development, regeneration and town centres Councillor Jennifer Tillotson, Mayoress Julie Ellerbeck, Felicity Chan and the Mayor of Charnwood, Councillor Dr Julie Bradshaw MBE.

Thousands of people visited Loughborough on Friday, 29 November to see the Christmas lights being switched on.

The event, organised by Charnwood Borough Council, kickstarted a weekend of festive fun with stage entertainment, festive food and drink, and fairground rides for the little ones.

The Christmas lights were switched-on by Light up Loughborough competition winner Felicity Chan, accompanied by the Mayor of Charnwood, Cllr Dr Julie Bradshaw MBE. The event was made extra special for Felicity as the Council has installed new lights this year.

Nine-year-old Felicity, from Loughborough. said:

“It was so exciting to switch-on the Christmas lights in front of so many people and I hope that everyone had a lot of fun.”

The youngster was chosen to switch-on the lights after judges heard her story about the selfless way that she has helped her parents through their health struggles, whilst raising over £1,000 for charity The Little Princess Trust.

Councillor Jennifer Tillotson, the Council’s lead member for economic development, regeneration and town centres, said:

“The Christmas spirit has well and truly arrived in Loughborough with such a fantastic turnout at the lights switch-on on Friday. The new lights in Market Place went down well and it was great to see so many people enjoying the entertainment on the stage from local performers."

“I was especially pleased to give young Felicity the opportunity to switch-on the Christmas lights. She did a brilliant job, and her family were so proud of her. She was a deserved winner, and I’m sure she had a memorable day. Thank you to everyone who attended all of the weekend’s festivities and I would like to wish you all a happy Christmas!”

The Mayor said:

“I couldn’t think of a more wonderful way to kickstart the festive season than to switch-on the Christmas lights in front of so many happy and excited visitors."

“To do so alongside such a deserving youngster as Felicity has been one of the highlights of my year as Mayor of Charnwood. She really is a shining example of what this time of year is all about: caring for others."

“I am also glad that we have been able to hold an entire weekend of festivities for residents from Charnwood and visitors from outside of the borough. I hope you all had an amazing time, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

Local radio station, Fosse 107 hosted the stage at this year’s Christmas lights switch-on with thanks to headline sponsor, Loughborough Kia.

The entertainment began at 4pm with Loughborough Student Union (LSU) Classical Concert Band and later included performances from St Botolph’s School, Loughborough Schools Foundation (LSF) Concert Band, Ilea Cavner, Jonezy and Jake Thompson.

The new lights were a big hit with visitors, with the ground-level features – including a giant present, teddy bear and a fox – particularly popular with families and visitors, who posed for hundreds of photos with them.

The festivities continued over the weekend with a host of family friendly activities taking place in Market Place on Saturday, 30 November, including market stalls, Christmas characters meeting and greeting visitors and a special performance from carol singers around the Christmas tree from Charnwood Voices and Carey Hall Baptist Church Choir.

Love Loughborough were kept busy with their popular gift-wrapping service.

The next day saw the return of the Loughborough Santa Run on Sunday, 1 December after last year’s run was cancelled. Organised by Rainbows Hospice, Market Place was filled with hundreds of happy runners who donated to Rainbows by taking part in the run.

The Mayor joined Love Loughborough Chair Lez Cope-Newman and the Dame from Loughborough Town Hall's Snow White pantomime on stage to count down and get the run started.

In the afternoon, a big screen in the Market Place showed two festive classics, Elf and Muppets Christmas Carol to an appreciative audience. The films were chosen based on the results of a poll conducted on the Council’s Facebook page. There were stalls serving food and hot drinks for cinemagoers feeling the cold.

You can find photos from the Loughborough Christmas lights switch-on and the weekends festive events by visiting the photo album.

The Christmas Lights Switch-On and Christmas Cinema events were two of several events which form part of the Living Loughborough project which is being supported by Loughborough Town Deal. The Town Deal secured £16.9 million from the Government’s Towns Fund to support 11 projects and in total, they are worth more than £40 million of investment.