Manchester's Giant Santa returns to Albert Square
It's the first time he's been at Albert Square in almost a decade
Manchester's Giant Santa is back on Albert Square, in front of the Grade I listed Victorian Town Hall, with a walk-through Christmas cracker added for this year.
He arrived in pieces on Friday 23rd October and was put together and placed into position ahead of the Christmas Markets.
His arrival is slightly earlier than usual because of the logistics of setting up Albert Square for Christmas, according to Manchester City Council.
The wooden market stall chalets are going up, and a 50m-high festive Ferris wheel has also been installed.
What's new this year
Santa no longer sits on top of the giant Christmas present tied up with ribbon that many people will remember.
Instead, he stands on top of a green walk-through Christmas cracker with golden bows at each end.
Visitors can walk from one end of the cracker to the other, underneath Santa, through a tunnel decorated with fairy lights.
A playlist of Christmas songs plays as they go, including tracks by Dean Martin, The Darkness and Mariah Carey.
When Santa switches on
Santa features more than 20,000 LED lights and will be officially lit up, along with the cracker, on Friday 6th November, the opening day of the Christmas Markets.
He will then be lit 24 hours a day until Sunday 3rd January.
Council leader's reaction
Councillor Garry Bridges, the leader of Manchester City Council, said: "There's nowhere that does Christmas quite like Manchester. We've been Santa's favourite city now for two and a half decades since our legendary Christmas Markets first began in 1998."
He said: "Whilst there's an obvious touch of sadness this year as we're missing our biggest Christmas cheerleader Councillor Pat Karney, the best way we can celebrate him is to make sure Manchester has the best Christmas ever."
He said: "So it's great to see our much-loved giant Santa has arrived back in town ready for the festive season and once more back on Albert Square in front of our magnificent Town Hall."
He said: "Our giant Santa is always a massive hit with everyone at Christmas and this year we're going one better as Santa brings with him, in a first for Manchester, his magical walk-through Christmas Cracker to add to the festive fun on the Square."
He said: "With just over a week to go until our fabulous Christmas Markets open, we're going all out to make sure the city is at its sparkly best and will be pulling out all the stops over the next couple of months to make Christmas in Manchester this year the most fantastic and magical yet."