500,000 expected to attend Winterval Festival in Waterford

More than 500,000 people are expected to attend Ireland's biggest Christmas Festival which opened in Waterford on Friday and runs until December 23rd – providing a €12 million boost to the local economy.

The Winterval Festival was officially opened at 5pm when Santa Claus was joined by the Mayor of Waterford, Cllr John Cummins, to switch on some 100,000 Christmas Lights in the city.

Thousands of spectators lined the Mall to see Santa welcomed to the city by Waterford’s Viking Elves whose ancestors founded the city over 1,100 years ago.

Winterval chairman Barry Monaghan said this is the fourth year of Winterval and this year's festival promises to be the best yet.

“Winterval is a festival which has broken all records and has grown exponentially each year – this year our ticket sales are up 20 per cent compared to this time last year so, it sure to be a record-beating year.

“It creates 550 seasonal jobs directly plus multiple indirect jobs and a huge economic boost to the city of €12 million so it is very important for what is typically an ‘off-season’ tourism time of the year.

"Winterval is part Continental Christmas Market, part Lapland and part Disney; it is unique and is a totally magical experience for all children and families."

This year’s Winterval festival features a market of 60 cabins in addition to an in-door craft market of 40 crafters plus a trail of over 30 different festive events taking place across the city.

Among the events is the premiere of a 3D Lightshow 'It's a kind of Magic', commissioned especially for Winterval and featuring Winterval festival ambassador, magician and mentalist, Keith Barry.