Running from 2pm to 5.30pm on Saturday, November 16, Countdown to Christmas will feature live music, fairground rides and celebrity guests, culminating in the official switching on of Newport’s city centre Christmas lights and a breathtaking fireworks display.
Pop star and West End actor Gareth Gates has sold more than three million singles in the UK and topped the charts four times since finishing as runner-up to Will Young on the original Pop Idol talent show in 2002.
As a recording artist, Gareth scored number one singles with Unchained Melody, Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake), Suspicious Minds/The Long and Winding Road (with Will Young) and Spirit in the Sky (with the Kumars) among a haul of seven top five singles
Three of his chart-topping singles were certified platinum and his version of Unchained Melody was named Record of the Year. His debut album reached number two in the charts.
In recent years, Gareth has taken the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoatin the West End. He has also played leading roles in Les Miserables, Legally Blonde, Hair and Footloose.
He has also appeared in several television shows and was the winner of last year’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
Gareth will be performing some of his biggest hits live as the headline musical act. Support acts, who were announced earlier this week, will be local performers Alimish, Callum Richards, Caitlin Lavagna, and Ryan Keyse & The Nighshift.
There will also be live stage appearances from the cast of Dick Whittington, this year’s Riverfront Theatre panto, and performers from the city’s youth arts charity Urban Circle.
Newport musical pioneer Benji Webbe has been chosen to switch on the Christmas lights with the city’s mayor Councillor Ray Mogford.
Benji is the lead singer of the rap metal band Skindred, the former leader of the group Dub War, and a veteran of the city’s 1990s rock explosion which saw Newport dubbed the ‘new Seattle’.
In a career spanning more than 30 years, he has featured on albums by The Alarm and Bullet For My Valentine.
Benji and Skindred celebrated the most successful period of their careers in the last 12 months, with their album Smile reaching number two in the charts, a sell-out show at Wembley Arena and an appearance on Later… with Jools Holland.
Organised and delivered by the Newport Now Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with Newport City Council, Friars Walk and Newport City Radio, Countdown to Christmas will mirror the BID’s hugely-successful previous annual events. This year’s event is funded by the UK Government via the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Last year’s Countdown to Christmas attracted almost 9,000 additional people into the city centre compared with an average Saturday.
There will be fairground rides at the top of High Street near the Corn Exchange and along the riverfront.
High Street will also be the venue for Newport Bus unveiling its Christmas bus. Visitors to the bus will be able to enter a special festive competition.
The day also marks the start of free parking on Saturdays in council-owned car parks in the city centre, which runs until December 31, and of Newport Bus’ Family for a Fiver offer (one day’s unlimited travel in Newport for one or two adults and up to three children for just £5), which runs until January 5.
The event will culminate with the Christmas lights switch-on at 5.15pm followed by the fireworks display at 5.30pm.
The full running order for Countdown to Christmas 2024 (times are subject to change):
2pm: Newport City Radio start the show
2.15pm: Ryan Keyse & The Nightshift
2.55pm: Caitlin Lavagna
3.15pm: Callum Richards
3.35pm: Cast of the Riverfront Theatre panto
3.45pm: Urban Circle
4.05pm: Alimish
4.30pm: Gareth Gates
5pm: Newport City Radio presenters are joined on stage by Newport City Council leader Councillor Dimitri Batrouni, Mayor Councillor Ray Mogford, Santa, and Benji Webbe
5.15pm: Lights switch-on by Benji Webbe and the Mayor
5.30pm: Fireworks display
