Orchard Road Christmas lights come on, heralding the holiday season | The Straits Times

Nov 10, 2024

SINGAPORE - As night fell on Orchard Road, the country’s shopping belt once again transformed into a festive wonderland with its yearly display of Christmas lights.

In a decades-long annual tradition that has been a herald of the holiday season, the lights officially came on in a launch on Nov 9 – officiated this year by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli.

Families and friends took photos in front of glittering arches and a 14m-tall Christmas tree at the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza, the tallest on the shopping street this year.

The Christmas On A Great Street light-up, which stretches for 3.1km, will be turned on nightly at 6.30pm until Jan 1.

This year’s festivities are expected to draw between four and five million visitors, on a par with pre-pandemic levels, Orchard Road Business Association chairman Mark Shaw said on Oct 23 at a media conference.

Christmas On A Great Street attracted 4.1 million visitors in 2023, of whom 70 per cent were locals.

This year marks the 41st edition of the light-up, and is themed around traditional Christmas lights set in a firefly garden.

The launch event on Nov 9 was in partnership with the Community Chest, which gave a preview of its new Sharity Reimagined fund-raising exhibition.

More than 30 local personalities like badminton player Loh Kean Yew, father-daughter pair Fandi Ahmad and Iman Fandi, and composer Dick Lee painted personalised Sharity figurines to raise funds for communities in need.

Each person painted a Sharity figurine to support their chosen cause and drive donations towards social service programmes supported by Community Chest. Singapore football icon Fandi painted his figurine in support of adults with disabilities.

Community Chest chairman Chew Sutat said: “Regular and sustained giving from partners and the wider community have enabled Community Chest to support critical social service programmes that have uplifted the lives of over 82,000 individuals and families in need.”

In 2023, Community Chest’s funding helped special education (Sped) schools serve more than 7,700 students with special needs. Seven new Sped schools have been established since 2022 to boost the capacity to meet the growing demand and needs for quality special education.

The public can see the painted figurines at the Sharity Reimagined exhibition at basement four of Ion Orchard from Nov 10 to 17. To make donations, they can visit the Giving.sg pages of the various personalities from now until Dec 31.

This year’s light-up at Orchard Road also sees the return of the Great Christmas Eve Street Party, held on a 400m stretch from Ion Orchard to Ngee Ann City. It will feature live deejay performances, roving mascots, food trucks, and a Christmas countdown.

Also at the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza will be one of two Great Christmas Villages, which will put on nightly snow shows at 8pm and 9pm, lasting four minutes each.

The village, which also offers live performances and game booths, will run from Nov 10 to Jan 1.

A second Great Christmas Village is being held at Shaw House Urban Plaza from Nov 8 to Jan 5, where people can enjoy carnival rides and games.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards

Spin the wheel now