Drake Circus to launch festive season with its annual Christmas lights switch on

Christmas is officially kicking off at Drake Circus and The Barcode this week with the switch on of its festive lights scheme.

Visitors can join Drake Circus and its festive helpers as they prepare to make the centre sparkle with the Christmas lights switch-on at 5pm on Thursday 17th November.

Celebrations will start from 3.30pm, with plenty of festive tunes from the Christmas Brazen Brass Band to get visitors in the Christmas spirit, and performances from Santa’s acrobatic elves who will be on hand to help with the countdown.

Visitors should also look out for the return of the Festive Polar Bear, who’ll be wandering through the mall enchanting children with his soft but sometimes grizzly behaviour.  

The centre’s Old Town Street entrance will also be transformed into a Winter Wonderland on the day with a snow flurry at 4pm for 10 minutes.

Greg Lumley, centre director at Drake Circus, said: “Our annual Christmas lights switch on is one of our most popular events of the year and we’re looking forward to welcoming people to join us at the event and kick off the festive celebrations at the centre together.

“We’ll be announcing a whole host of activities for each weekend in the lead up to Christmas very soon, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled for those too!”

This week will also see the return of festive late-night Thursdays with stores open until 8pm, and more than 30 retailers will open even later until 9pm in the lead up to Christmas. As well as late night shopping, visitors can enjoy discounted parking at The Barcode for £2.50 if arriving after 5pm.

Plan your festive day out at Drake Circus and The Barcode and find a full list of stores and restaurants, by visiting: https://www.drakecircus.com/christmas.