The lights go on in Romford!
Romford was the place to be on Thursday as the festive lights were switched on accompanied by a firework display following a two hour free show watched by thousands of people in the Market.
Sid & Scrat from the movie Ice Age™ made personal appearances and TV stars Lydia Lucy of the Voice and X Factor's Che Chesterman got the crowds rocking with new and classic songs.
The weather had threatened to put a damper on proceedings with reports of strong winds and heavy rain in the area but the rainfall held off and the winds subsided to allow a full two hour programme of entertainment hosted by Mark Dover from Time 107.5 that also included a preview of the Queen’s Theatre Christmas pantomime Cinderella, a performance from the NHS Sound of Pride choir made up of a group of NHS staff from King George and Queen’s Hospitals.
The events in Romford’s Market Place were just part of the festive celebrations across Havering with markets and light switch on events scheduled across the borough.
Councillor Damian White, the Deputy Leader of Havering Council who was there with the Mayor of Havering to perform the official light switching on ceremony said:
“It was wonderful to see so many people in the Market Place enjoying themselves and we were certainly lucky with the weather. I’d like to thank everyone who worked so hard to arrange the event and to be among the first to wish everyone a very happy Christmas!”