Oxford City Council has insisted this year’s Christmas lights switch on was ‘spectacular’ despite some revellers complaining about technical issues.

The city centre was filled with around 20,000 revellers as Oxford launched the countdown to the big day on Friday.

Pupils from across Oxford, including Headington’s St Josephs, Windmill, and St Nicholas’ primary schools led a torchlit procession from Gloucester Green to St Giles, where four-minute mile running legend Sir Roger Bannister turned on the lights.

But after Sir Roger pressed the plunger, some members of the crowd felt the lights left them feeling less than full of festive cheer.

Andrew Mundin, of Cowley, said the organiser could have made more of an effort to light up St Giles if that is where the switch-on was staged.

He said: “The only indication the lights had been turned on was because you could see St John’s College lit up.

“After they said ‘five, four, three, two, one’ everyone looked around and really, you could barely see any difference.”

Members of the crowd also reported poor stage sound quality when Oxford University’s beatbox acapella outfit, Out of the Blue, gave crowds a rendition of Queen’s Fat Bottomed Girls.

But last night Oxford City Council denied they had received any poor feedback.

Spokesman Chris Lee said: “The only feedback we have received about the event so far has been positive.

“We feel it was a spectacular event which really brought people together. We would encourage people to give us their views on this year’s event to help us plan next year’s celebrations.”

To leave feedback go to the link below: