Newport Christmas lights switch-on 2022 full line-up

The 2022 edition of the ever-popular festive event will this year feature a very special guest, to get us all in the spirit before our attention turns to Qatar.

The family event will take place this year one day before the World Cup kicks off.

Wales will play their first match on November 21, and to mark this special occasion the Newport Christmas lights switch-on will feature a live performance by Dafydd Iwan, whose song Yma O Hyd has become a fan favourite and inspired the men's team to their first World Cup performance in 64 years.

Dafydd Iwan will be performing the song – which was released officially today (November 7) in a new remixed version featuring tens of thousands of Red Wall fans recorded at recent international matches – on the main stage based at the junction of Charles Street and Commercial Street, before helping the city’s mayor Councillor Martyn Kellaway switch on the festive lights.

Dafydd Iwan performing Yma O Hyd in Cardiff. (Image: FAW)

The city's Countdown to Christmas is organised and delivered by the Newport Now Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with Newport City Council, Friars Walk and Newport City Radio.

It runs from 3pm to 5.30pm in Newport city centre.

The event will be hosted by Heart FM drivetime show presenters Jagger and Woody, and there will be some special seasonal musical entertainment from Britain’s Got Talent stars Welsh of the West End.

With more than 18 million views, the musical theatre supergroup has become an online viral sensation, entertaining audiences with show-stopping versions of West End classics.

Featuring performers from shows such as Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and Wicked, Welsh of the West End reached the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent.

The group will be on stage at Countdown to Christmas ahead of a live show at Newport’s ICC Wales on December 10.

Welsh of the West End. (Image: Welsh of the West End)

Also on stage at Countdown to Christmas will be Welsh singer-songwriter John Adams, who has more than a million monthly streams on Spotify and whose songs have been praised by the likes of Take That star Gary Barlow.

Dafydd Iwan, Welsh of the West End and John Adams will be supported by some exciting young local musical talents as community station Newport City Radio hosts the stage from 3pm.

The World Cup theme will be continued with Newport band Tinty and the Bucket Hats, whose unofficial World Cup anthem Waka Waka Cymru (Men Of Harlech) recently topped the iTunes charts. The band will also be raising awareness of anti-bullying charity Kidscape.

Tinty and the Bucket Hats. (Image: Tinty and the Bucket Hats)

Newport City Radio’s Ian ‘Lamsie’ Lamsdale will also be introducing Latin-influenced Zoila Garman and rising country music star Caitlin Mae.

The city’s Christmas lights will be switched on at 5pm by Dafydd Iwan and Newport Mayor Councillor Martyn Kellaway. The event culminates in a spectacular fireworks display from 5.20pm.

The event will also include fairground rides along on the riverfront from noon to 9pm.

Father Christmas will be making an appearance, along with stars of the Riverfront Theatre’s Robin Hood panto, and there will be costume characters on parade in Commercial Street and High Street with children’s face painters in the Kingsway centre and Newport Market.

Countdown to Christmas is the latest in a series of city centre events organised or funded by Newport Now BID, a private company representing and funded by more than 600 city centre businesses.