Festival of Christmas

The Festival of Christmas returns to Broadgate and Upper Precinct on Saturday 21 November, running from 15:00 to 18:00. It's a free family event that takes over the city centre around the annual festive market and the Big Wheel, so it's something you can drift into while you're already out doing your Christmas shopping.

The afternoon is built on street performance. Roaming illuminated stilt-walking angels, icy puppet sprites and a living Christmas snow globe move through the crowds, so you'll spot them wherever you happen to be. Father Christmas is there too, and he'll be in the Cathedral ruins for storytelling, with a crew of naughty elves by his side.

As the afternoon turns to evening, the focus shifts upwards. A Christmas fairy hangs from a seven-metre tall inflatable arch, her aerial acrobatics giving way to flame artists and choreographed fire dancing as night falls. The city's own musicians take to the stage as well, among them the award-winning Impact Steel and the light-hearted addition of speedy Christmas grannies.

It's all free, and it runs from 15:00 to 18:00 across Broadgate and Upper Precinct, around the Christmas market and the Big Wheel.