Kieran Davey takes a look at the Christmas lights festivities taking place in Oxford and beyond...

The streets of Oxford will be lit up for Christmas this year as the city’s annual Light Festival returns with three days of music, entertainment and festive shopping.

And this year the festival, which runs from Friday to Sunday, will wow spectators with a lights show at the Clarendon Building featuring festive images projected on to the side of the building.

Created by artist Dan Shorten of Anomic Multimedia, the 15-minute show will be held in Broad Street on Friday at 8.30pm and 9.30pm, and then every hour on Saturday between 4.30pm and 9.30pm.

The company, which uses digital technologies to create imaginative art displays, has previously projected images onto the Tower of London and stages at Glastonbury.

Oxford city councillor Mark Lygo said: “Anomic Multimedia is one of the UK’s leading multimedia artists and I cannot wait to see what they do with one of Oxford’s most iconic buildings.

“This year’s Christmas Light Festival was already shaping up to be an incredible event, but this has now taken it to another level.

“So many talented people are coming together to be part of it, and the festival is set to be one of the highlights of the year.”

Many of the city’s landmarks will be opening their doors to visitors, including the Ashmolean, Natural History and Pitt Rivers museum, along with the Bodleian, Modern Art Oxford, the Story Museum, the Oxford Playhouse and Oxford Ice Rink.

About 100,000 people are expected to take part in the weekend, which is being part-funded using a £15,000 grant secured from the Arts Council England.

There will be a lantern procession featuring hundreds of children from the city’s primary schools weaving their way through the city centre, leaving New Inn Hall Street at 6.30pm.

The procession will pass through Queen Street and Cornmarket Street before finishing in Broad Street.

Workshops have been held in schools to show children how to make the lanterns, which this year are built from recycled plastic bottles.

Last year the procession had to be cancelled due to safety concerns, with city council leader Bob Price saying it had become “a victim of its own success”.

The three-day festival was also criticised by university college staff, who called it “naff and tawdry” because of noise levels and its duration.

On Saturday and Sunday there will also be a Christmas Market in Broad Street with stalls selling festive gifts, mulled wine and cider, and toys and decorations.

Visitors should take note of road closures taking place in Oxford to accommodate the events, particularly on Friday and Saturday evening.

On Friday, Broad Street will be closed from 3pm to 11pm.

* For more information on road closures visit oxfordschristmas.com.