Newcastle's Christmas

Between 2017 and 2019 NE1 trialled a series of interventions to grow the city’s festive experience, including city centre fairground rides as well as events including the cultural advent calendar The 24 Doors of Christmas and the popular Search for Santa trail, both of which continue to this day.

Post-Covid, in 2021, NE1 started working more closely with Newcastle City Council to improve the quality and the scale of Newcastle’s Christmas Markets, which are a key attraction in the festive calendar of many cities. The duration was extended, from two weeks to six weeks, and a hyper-local focus on traders was adopted. 2022 saw Newcastle’s Christmas Markets extend into Old Eldon Square and, in 2023, they attracted over 1.3 million visitors and featured over 50 stalls – 84% of which were occupied by businesses based within 20 miles of the city centre.

The partnership between NE1 and Newcastle City Council has further strengthened the city’s festive offer with the introduction of New Year’s Eve light show Laser Light City in 2021 – which brought over 25,000 people to Newcastle’s Quayside in 2023 – and Moosenwirt, a pop-up Christmas bar delivered by local business owners, which has been in residence on Grey Street throughout the festive period since 2022.

As a key priority in NE1’s 2024-2029 Business Plan, we will continue to work with Newcastle City Council and other partners to continue to improve Newcastle’s Christmas and New Year offer to make sure it is commensurate with a city of Newcastle’s size and standing, and ensure it gives people even more reason to visit during the festive period.