‘Firefly’ garden and snow shows: New attractions to join Christmas street party in Orchard Road

SINGAPORE – A “firefly” garden, nightly snow shows and a bar-hopping “passport” will be among the new elements at the 2024 Christmas light-up along Orchard Road.

Christmas on A Great Street, the annual light-up organised by the Orchard Road Business Association (Orba), will also bring back the Great Christmas Eve Street Party in 2024.

Stretching 400m from Ion Orchard to Ngee Ann City, it will feature live deejay performances, roving mascots, pop-up stalls and food trucks, as well as a countdown to Christmas.

A section of Orchard Road from the Paterson Road junction to Bideford Road junction will be closed to vehicular traffic from 6pm on Dec 24, as revellers count down to Christmas Day from 8pm.

The road will reopen to traffic from 2am on Dec 25.

The party was first held in 2023 and attracted 130,000 revellers. The good response motivated the association to bring it back in 2024, said Orba chairman Mark Shaw.

Christmas on A Great Street attracted 4.1 million visitors in 2023, 70 per cent of whom were locals while the rest were tourists.

“The event’s visitorship has gone back to pre-pandemic levels, and we expect four million to five million visitors this year,” said Mr Shaw.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will officiate the light-up ceremony on Nov 9, which is organised by Orba and Community Chest to raise funds for more than 100 social service agencies running over 200 social service programmes.

A special Christmas edition of Night At Orchard will take place from Nov 8 to 10 along the pedestrian walkway from Ion Orchard to Ngee Ann City, as part of the programme for the light-up weekend.

The design for the 2024 light-up will incorporate a twist on classic Christmas lights – a “firefly garden” where vertical beams of light mimic the wave-like motion of fireflies, signifying light, connection and inspiration.

The garden will also have an abundance of evergreen pine – a nod to Orchard Road’s past when the area was home to orchards and nutmeg plantations.

Augmented reality multimedia projections on the facade of Hilton Singapore Orchard, in partnership with OUE, will see golden sparkles, snowflakes and fireworks come to life. Music will be played from speakers perched on 44 lamp posts on both sides of Orchard Road.

The annual light-up, now into its 41st year, is supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, Hitachi and Mastercard.

The Great Christmas Village at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza will run from Nov 10 to Jan 1, featuring an outdoor 14m-tall Mastercard Priceless Christmas tree. Visitors will be treated to a four-minute programmed snowfall show around the tree at 8pm and 9pm from Nov 10 to Jan 1.

There will be rides like Flying Dumbo, and an exclusive Orchard Road craft beer called Jingle Ale, in partnership with local brewer Asa Brew, will also be on sale.

Another Great Christmas Village at Shaw House Urban Plaza will run from Nov 8 to Jan 5, featuring carnival rides such as the Euro swing and Ferris wheel, claw machines, and a new spin and catch game.

There will be a new initiative, ORBar on A Great Street, which features a bar-hopping “passport” for signature cocktails at special prices, to help reinvigorate nightlife in Orchard Road.

From now till Dec 31, customers can purchase a passport bundle of eight signature cocktails (priced at $109) from four selected bars. The drinks can be redeemed at the participating bars from Nov 1 to Jan 31. Each bar will serve two drinks per passport.

Said Mr Shaw: “This new initiative is to highlight Orchard Road’s vibrant night scene and the hotels, restaurants and bars. This is marketed to adults of drinking age, but there are many other offerings like the Christmas villages and the snowfall that are for families.”

Decorations from 2023 were repurposed to adorn community spaces to reduce waste while bringing festive cheer to new areas. This year, Orba will donate lights to local animal therapy charity Equal.

Besides purchasing renewable energy credits from SP Group for the Christmas light-up, Orba also supported the National Parks Board’s Garden City Fund Plant-A-Tree programme by committing to plant 100 trees in the Orchard Road precinct.

To kick off the year-end planting efforts, Orba planted two Malayan crape myrtle trees in front of Ion Orchard on Sept 4.

As part of the association’s community efforts, special bus tours will be organised for underprivileged seniors, as well as healthcare and migrant workers, throughout the Christmas season. Orba will also host beneficiaries from Community Chest social service agencies for a special celebration at the Great Christmas Village at Ngee Ann City on Nov 9, a day before the village is opened to the public.

“For four decades, the light-up has brought joy to millions, showcasing Orchard Road as more than just a shopping street,” said Mr Shaw. “We strive each year to create a spectacular Christmas light-up that embodies the magic of the season for everyone to enjoy.”

Community groups and organisations that wish to perform at the Great Christmas Village from Sundays to Thursdays can write to Orba and include a video submission of their past performances.

The association also invites charities and community groups to write in if they wish to reuse the past year’s decorations.