Malaga aims for its Christmas lights to be among 'the best in Europe' again

Christmas is here. Almost. And as usual in mid-November, Malaga city council officials have given details of what this year's famous lights display will look like when launched.

Councillor Teresa Porras is in charge of the lights and was visiting pedestrianised Calle Larios, the centrepiece of the display, this week to check on progress. With her were the president of the Malaga old town traders' association, Juanibel Vera, and vicepresident of bar and restaurant association Mahos, José Simón.

Porras promised the festive show will make the capital of the Costa del Sol a "European leader" for Christmas light displays once again.

The big switch-on will be on 24 November at 7pm, the same day as Black Friday. The city will feature around 2.2 million LED lights in 500 streets, squares and on roundabouts - and well-known Malaga landmarks will also be illuminated.

This year's lights will offer a number of different features and some familiar elements, according to Porras. The main display on Calle Larios is set to remain unchanged, keeping last year's theme of the heavenly angels. Porras explained that it is an "exclusive design" made just for Malaga.

There will once again be video mapping on the cathedral tower and on some of the buildings in Plaza de la Constitución.

As usual, the musical soundtrack for this Christmas season to go with the lights will be a mixture of seasonal classics and the occasional foray into the world of great orchestras.

There will be three daily light and music shows in Calle Larios, except on 24 and 31 December. These will be at 6.30pm, 8pm and 10pm. The lights will be switched on every day at 6.30pm. From Monday to Thursday, they will be switched off at midnight. From Friday to Sunday they will remain on until 2am.

"We are the greatest city for Christmas lights in Spain and Europe. We will have a show with the support of all business in the city, such as shops and bars and restaurants," Porras said.

A total of 1.4 million euros is being spent on the Christmas lights, according to the councillor. The question of who will be in charge of pressing the button to turn on the lights is still yet to be answered. "That is the million-dollar question," Porras said.

Meanwhile, the council has announced that the popular Christmas lighting displays will return to La Concepción botanical garden, some four kilometres north of the city centre. The paid-for show, which uses features of the gardens and historic mansion house as backdrops, will be entitled Angélical this year, with the theme of the kingdom of the angels. It will run from 1 December to 7 January from 6pm each day.