HALLOWEEN might be only just behind us but Dublin shoppers will have noticed that DublinTown has already started hanging the festive lights across the city centre in preparation for Christmas.
Over the next four weeks the busy DublinTown team will hang and individually test an incredible one million light bulbs and fixtures.
With 30 streets to decorate and stretching across 4.5 kilometres of Dublin’s city centre, it takes a team of 20, working throughout the nights, over 200 hours to completely erect the lights over the city for the festive season.
“Putting up the Christmas lights in the city centre is the most carefully planned and coordinated operation that we do each year,” said Richard Guiney, CEO of DublinTown.
“Through coordination with businesses in the city we identify the most suitable times to put up the Christmas lights.
“The lights are officially switched on the same time each year too and this year they will be switched on from Sunday, November 13 until Saturday, January 7 and we are proud that 25 million people will walk under the Christmas lights this year.”
Regardless of whether you think Christmas comes too early or not, it really is a magical time of year and the city centre has some of the most impressive lights in the country – and the Northside will look especially good this year.
“This year we are proud to announce that Henry street and Mary street will be getting brand new Christmas lights which will enhance the look of entire street this festive season,” said Guiney.
“I would encourage everyone to go to town for one of our Christmas lighting ceremonies to experience the magic of Dublin at Christmas.”
DublinTown is a collective of 2,500 businesses from St Stephen’s Green to Parnell Street working to improve the city centre.
FESTIVE FACTS AND FIGURES
• 30 streets in Dublin will be decorated with Christmas lights, stretching over 4.5 kilometres
• It takes 20 people working through the night, over four weeks and 200 hours to completely erect all the lights
• Each and every single bulb and fixture will be tested by the DublinTown team
• The lights will be illuminated for over 1,000 hours from November 13 to January 7
• There are 47,350 individual light bulbs on Grafton Street alone
• There are over 1,000,000 individual light bulbs hung across the city
• 20 Dublin City Trees will be decorated with lights across Parnell Street and Liffey Street
• Over 10,000 light bulbs will decorate two trees on Liffey Street
• 160 crossovers and 26 wall mounts will be used
• Over 150,000 light bulbs will adorn the three spectacular light curtains on Wicklow Street, Andrew Street and Johnson Court
• 25 million people will walk under the Christmas Lights in Dublin City Centre this year alone
• Two spectacular lighting ceremony events will take place in November with special guests and performances to be announced.
• The full programme for www.DublinatChristmas.ie will be announced shortly on the official website.