What a night! Nothing marks the start of the festive season quite like the annual Christmas lights switch-on event at Covent Garden, where thousands of people of all ages gather in the historic Piazza to watch it ignited with dazzling lights. A true moment of magic.

Timebased were proud to do the honours once again, producing and managing the spectacular show for the excited crowd on Tuesday evening. Like previous years, the event was packed with stars of the screen and stage. 

Magic FM’s Ronan Keating and Harriet Scott were hosts for the night, introducing the wonderful live acts. First off - The Snowman and the Ice Princess took a break from rehearsals at the West End to perform a heart-melting dancing duet, under a flurry of conjured white snow. They glided around the stage, warming up the audience before some tuneful songs from the Tiffin Children’s Chorus.

And then, the big moment. Actresses Emilia Clarke, Dame Emma Thompson and director Paul Freig, of the newly released film Last Christmas, emerged as special guests to join everyone in counting down to the all-important turning on of 115,000 twinkling Covent Garden Christmas lights.

3-2-1- the buzzer was pressed, and the iconic 55ft Christmas tree (weighing 1.5 tonnes!) was illuminated with over 30,000 lights and the area was transformed into a glittering winter wonderland. 

To top off the extravaganza, the awe-struck spectators were treated to an endearing sing-a-long of George Michael’s hit song with the same name to ring in the festive cheer.

The event was completely free for the public to attend, with all donations on the night in aid of Crisis, the UK national charity to help end homelessness. As usual, the show attracted widespread coverage and mentions across news publications and social media, including the Metro, Time Out and even newspapers around the UK.

Year-on-year, Covent Garden's 19th-century Piazza and its adjoining cobbled streets are the ultimate destination for a magical festival experience - not to mention the perfect place for Santa to shop for presents! We can't wait to see you there again next year!

 

Watch a video of the full show below: