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Christmas comes to Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square's Christmas tree lights were switched on, bringing the festive spirit to Westminster.
Attending the ceremony were the mayor of Westminster, Cllr Louise Hyams, London mayor Boris Johnson, and Rune Gerhardsen representing the Mayoral Party from Oslo, who lit the Norweigan tree on Thursday.
Classic Christmas carols were sung by the St Martin-in-the-Field's choir as well as more modern renditions from Norwegian gospel choir Gospelkoret, both accompanied by the Westminster Salvation Army Band.
The tree is an annual gift to Westminster from Oslo as a token of thanks for British support during the years of occupation in World War Two.
This year the tree stands at 33 metres high and is 90 years old.
Cllr Hyams, said: "I would like to thank the people of Oslo for this splendid tree, a tradition which I know has come to represent the start of the Christmas season for many people across London."
The tree is decorated in a traditional Norwegian style with 500 white lights using voltage halogen bulbs which only draw 15amps (3.5KW) of power.
They will be lit from noon until midnight each day until Monday 5 January, after which the tree will be recycled.
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