The turning on of the DublinTown Christmas lights will officially mark the beginning of the festive season in the capital. Starting with Grafton Street followed by the rest of the city centre at various times throughout the rest of the week. There’s nowhere quite like the city centre of Dublin during the Christmas season. Here at DublinTown we put up the Christmas lights on behalf of the business community in town each year, will switch on the iconic lights on streets like Grafton Street, Henry Street, South William St, Capel St and many more starting with the spectacular Grafton Street Christmas Chandeliers.
Given the challenges of 2020 there will not be a physical event to celebrate the switching on of the Christmas Lights this year, instead we held a live broadcast from the balcony of the historic Bewleys Café Grafton Street. Where the public could watch the official switch on of the Christmas lights through a five minute live broadcast. The occasion was streamed simultaneously on DublinTown’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media pages. DublinTown linked up with Temple Street Children’s Hospital where little girl Simone, age 11 from Co Meath currently in the hospital pushed the magic button to turn on the lights from hospital. For over 10 years DublinTown has taken on the task of decorating the city in stunning Christmas lights for the busiest shopping and socialising season of the year. In that time DublinTown has also grown the number of streets with Christmas lights. Their presence gives a sense of joy to the city and adds to the buzz and excitement as Christmas approaches. The DublinTown Christmas lights consist of over 1 million low energy LED light bulbs, over 300,000 individual light bulbs on Grafton street alone and approx. 4km of lights in total. The lights are now a feature attraction for the public who can be seen each evening taking pictures and selfies under the lights.
Richard Guiney CEO of DublinTown said: The DublinTown Christmas lights is by far the biggest task that we undertake for our business members and people of Dublin each year. 2020 has been an extremely challenging year for Dublin city centre businesses. DublinTown has shared that difficulty with our members. This year the erecting of the Christmas lights means so much more than any other year and we would ask people to come and support the city centre businesses at this special time. Stores have been gearing up for Christmas and are ready to meet customer needs and safety.
Customers are asked to support Irish jobs by visiting city centres stores and buying from local retailers in the city. Post Covid, we all want to see a vibrant capital city and to make that a reality we need to make sure we support city businesses at this vital time, and if purchasing on-line the public are encouraged to buy from sites that support Irish jobs. Shopping and socialising in the city centre of Dublin under the iconic Christmas lights is a key Christmas memory for many. We invite everyone to come to town and make new Christmas memories under the magic of the DublinTown Christmas lights. For festive activities, family fun, shopping, socialising and special offers, Christmas starts here, see DublinatChristmas.ie and DublinTown.ie and follow #DublinTownChristmas throughout the season to be kept up to date with all the city’s festive activities.
