A magical Christmas in Leicester

This Christmas, Leicester will be packed full of more festive cheer, great food and awesome activities than ever before!

From the 44-foot Christmas tree to an expanded Christmas market, the return of the real ice rink and a whole host of seasonal shows, Leicester is set to host one of its biggest festive celebrations this year.

The celebrations start officially on Wednesday 19 November when the annual switch-on celebrations will light up the city centre.

This year’s event runs from 5pm until 8pm and features a packed Christmas cracker of a programme with musical performances in Town Hall Square all evening long, street entertainment from entertainers including The Living Snowglobe and Polar Pip the Polar Bear, the Billy Bates fun fair and no less than four separate light switch-ons.

The fun starts at 6.30pm with the main lights switch, Gathered round the Clock Tower, the stars of the De Montfort Hall panto flick the switch, joined by Father Christmas and LCFC’s Filbert Fox with BBC Radio Leicester’s Ady Dayman leading the ceremonies from the Haymarket balcony.

Then it’s to the Haymarket Shopping Centre, with Father Christmas doing the honours at 6.45pm; followed by a slam dunk at the Highcross as the Leicester Riders turn the lights on in St Peter’s Square at 7pm.

Ice Skate Leicester has become a staple of the festive season and is due to open just one week after switch-on night. Glide around the real ice, with sparkling LED lights under the ice and a clear canopy overhead. With self-service skates and lockers for your valuables, it’ll be easier than ever to get on the ice.

This year they are also bringing street curling to Leicester for the very first time. This offers the perfect evening out for groups, or maybe the best way to spend lunch with your workmates. Get in the mood for the Winter Olympics as you try out this addictive sport on ‘plastic ice’

Ice Skate Leicester is open from Saturday 28 November to 4 January and tickets will go on sale soon from their website.

This year sees the return of the Leicester Christmas Market which debuted last year and will be back in Gallowtree Gate from Monday 17 November, running until 27 December. There’s an expanded offer this year, with even more stalls offering a range of seasonal goods and food including the iconic Yorkshire Pudding Wrap. The Market will be complemented by a Christmas fayre in Highcross Leicester’s St Peter’s Square.

This Christmas it’s Showtime on stage as the magic continues thanks to a fantastic variety of blockbuster shows and family pantos. The Sound of Music is this year’s show at Curve, with an award-winning production of the iconic musical. Dick Whittington is this year’s panto at De Montfort Hall, starring BBC Radio 2’s Richie Anderson, Hear Say and Emmerdale’s Suzanne Shaw and CBBC’s Rebecca Keatley. There’s also Aliens Love Panta Claus at Curve for your little ones.

Highcross Leicester will host a free pop-up panto this year, with Santa’s Secret Workshop staged on the ground floor every Saturday during the run up to Christmas, with a couple of extra special performances closer to the big day.

There’s loads of great stage performances and live music in the run up to Christmas from Christmas Music by Candlelight, classical concerts at the Cathedral and Gerald Dickens performing A Christmas Carol by the fireside at the Guildhall.

Late night shopping comes to the city every Wednesday from switch-on night, and if you’re looking for some special gifts, why not pop into the Leicester Guildhall Christmas Fair on 29 and 30 November. Santa will also be dropping in to the Haymarket Shopping Centre on 6 December with help from his elves.

And also returning this year will be BID Leicester’s Festive Jams, with amazing outdoor musical performances every weekend in the run up to Christmas. From traditional choirs to live jazz and festive Mariachi bands, come and get down with the funky Christmas spirit as you shop.

There are printed festive adventure trail maps with all the key Christmas attractions, plus a full list of all the events and activities at visitleicester.info/christmas