Christmas is cancelled as festive markets and lights switch-ons scrapped across UK

Christmas events across the UK have been cancelled this year following concerns for safety and budget restraints.

From Dumbarton to Brighton, Christmas light switch-ons and markets have been scrapped, sparking concerns that many people will miss out on the usual Christmas festivities.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that England’s oldest Christmas market in Lincoln had been scrapped as it proved ‘too popular’ last year.

Officials decided to cancel this years event over dears too many people in a “small area” would be unsafe for visitors.

It was the latest abandonment in a string of festive cancellations across the UK this year - which have been mapped below:

Both Sheffield and Manchester chose not to go ahead with their traditional light switch-ons this year due to similar safety concerns.

Manchester councillors said the event could not go ahead due to “ongoing development in the city centre”, leaving them without a suitable location to safely hold the event.

Sheffield City Council also blamed city centre building works for the cancellation of the event and said there was no way to “safely host” the festivities.

It also seems that Christmas events are also not exempt from 2023’s budget restrictions.

Christmas markets and lights have been cancelled in several places including Winderemere, Brighton and Medway due to issues with funding.

Brighton and Hove City Council said it couldn’t find a commercial partner to fund the event and couldn’t afford the £70,000 it needed for it to go ahead.

“Organising a Christmas Market for the city was always dependent on finding a new commercial partner to help us to fund and co-ordinate the event,” lead for tourism and culture, councillor Alan Robins, said.

“We wanted to create a different kind of Christmas Market this year – because in the two years it was staged it was never actually all that popular with the public, and was also expensive for traders who wanted a pitch there.”

Rising costs and shrinking budgets means some parts of the UK will be without Christmas lights completely this year.

Medway Council in Kent said it had scrapped Christmas lights altogether in 2023 due to a “challenging financial situation”.

Officials said the move would save a much needed £75,000 after finding a potential overspend of £17million in the last financial year.

Leader of Medway Council, Councillor Vince Maple, said: “Unfortunately due to the challenging financial situation the council is in, we have had to make the sad and difficult decision to not have Christmas lights across Medway this year. This means there will sadly be no switch-on events held in the town centres this year.”

Thankfully, a private company later stepped in to offer funding for lights in three of the five town centres in the region.

Other events faced changes or difficulties for more unusual reasons.

In July, organisers of Oxford’s Christmas market announced its cancellation after councillors insisted use of a cycle lane running through the event stayed open. Fortunately, new organisers stepped up and the event was able to go ahead.

However, other Britons were not so lucky. Felixstowe’s market was scrapped due to a lack of interest in the event and a popular Lake District Christmas market in Windermere was also cancelled as organisers were unable to secure funding.

A statement from the Windermere organisers said: “We have worked hard in the background to keep the event going, opening the door up to the local community and businesses to encourage extra volunteers and financial assistance, but unfortunately the support and financial assistance offered was not enough to cover an event in 2023.”