Duke of York Square’s Christmas Lights Switch-On event officially marks the beginning of the count down to Christmas in Chelsea. Complete with magical reindeer, the opening of Santa’s Grotto and festive entertainment, the climax of the celebrations is the big Switch-On moment, when the Square is flooded with twinkling lights for the
very first time.
Every year a local child ‘Santa’s Special Helper’ helps Santa turn on the Christmas lights. This can be a little one who’s achieved something extraordinary during the year, helped someone in a wonderful way, or just has a special request which needs a little touch of Santa magic.
This year Santa’s Special Helper was six year old Selvi Krishna, who was nominated by her mother. Born with Achromatopsia, a visual disorder which makes her partially sighted and colourblind, Selvi loves being outside in the dark, especially at Christmas when the sparkling lights help bring her world to life.
Arriving with Santa on his sleigh pulled by real reindeer, Selvi switched on the Christmas lights before being the first person to visit Santa in his cosy grotto at the Square. A huge thank you to Selvi who did a brilliant job and helped make the
Switch-On moment really special.
We hope you all enjoyed our Switch-On event – it’s great to see so many gorgeous photos of the lights on social media. Please continue to share these with us using the hashtag #ChelseaChristmas.
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