It may still be October and Halloween and Bonfire night are still to come but Santa has arrived in Albert Square and this year he’s celebrating his 10th birthday!
An icon of the city’s festive season, the six-tonne giant Santa is the latest in a long tradition of over-sized St Nicks scaling the Manchester City Council clock tower.
Celebrating a decade at the top, the giant Santa was given a full refurbishment last year making sure his 100,000 low energy LED lights are all shining bright and he looks his best for another season as Manchester’s festive mascot.
As a thoroughly modern Santa, he will be wading into the Christmas conversation with his own twitter account. Follow him @MCRSanta and keep up with all the festive news.
Santa will also deliver his individual outlook on the city’s festive season, along with taking up the mantle as VIP judge in a variety of Christmas competitions.
Santa will be lifted into place this coming Wednesday but his dazzling lights will remain off until the official start to the festive season at the Manchester Christmas Lights Switch-on event on Saturday, 4 November.
Cllr Pat Karney, Manchester’s Christmas spokesperson, said: “It stands to reason that Santa would be celebrating his birthday in his favourite city. We will make sure the festive season is extra special this year in UK’s the capital of Christmas for our biggest festive resident.
“We’re already looking forward to the Christmas Lights Switch-on when we will see his dazzling lights on for the first time!”
Cllr Luthfur Rahman, Manchester City Council’s executive member for culture and leisure, said: “Generations of Manchester people remember the different incarnations of town hall Santa, but our current giant is always the talk of the town when he arrives in Albert Square.
