Regent Street Christmas Lights 2011 were switched on tonight - Tuesday 8 November 2011 at 6.20pm
Tonight the world famous Regent Street Christmas lights were switched on by movie stars from the new 3D family Christmas film, ARTHUR CHRISTMAS. British actors Bill Nighy and Ashley Jensen waved to thousands of fans gathered for the traditional countdown “traffic free” event on Regent Street, London W1. Pop stars Kelly Clarkson and Matt Cardle entertained the audience with live performances, supported by the cast of the West End musical Thriller and The West End Gospel Choir. The event closed with a spectacular pyrotechnic display from the Regent Street rooftops, illuminating London’s Mile of Style and illustrating its unique ability to produce large-scale, traffic free events worthy of the 2012 London Olympics.
The Regent Street Christmas lights are sponsored by Sony Pictures Entertainment in celebration of the release of the new 3D family Christmas movie ARTHUR CHRISTMAS, this year themed with a series of festive designs and characters from the film. Featuring a twinkling re-creation of the Northern Lights as its centrepiece, the crossings are adorned with two huge flying sleighs, elves busy at work, the London skyline, and the Christmas family presiding over it all at each end.
Kelly Clarkson performed her massive hit singles ‘Mr Know It All’ and ‘My Life Would Suck Without You’. ‘Mr Know It All’, taken from her brand new album ‘Stronger’, is currently riding high in the charts following her incredible performance on The X Factor 2 weeks ago. After her appearance Kelly said “Performing at the light switch on at Regent Street was a really fun experience, it’s great seeing everyone out enjoying the spectacle and I’ve loved helping get everyone excited for Christmas!”. Since bursting onto the music scene 10 years ago, Kelly Clarkson has released 5 studio albums (Thankful, Breakaway, My December, All I Ever Wanted, Stronger), sold over 20 million albums worldwide, had six top ten singles in the UK and has sold over 3.5 million units in the UK alone.
Matt Cardle performed his huge single 'Run For Your Life' and the forthcoming single Starlight, both taken from the debut album 'Letters' which charted at no 2 last month. Matt said "I had such an awesome time!!! the crowd were wicked and my new single Starlight went down really well! It’s one of the first times I've sung it live so I was pretty nervous! The lights were amazing, such an honour to have been invited". Matt was winner of X Factor 2010. His winning single 'When We Collide" which also features on 'Letters' was Christmas number one and the second biggest selling single of the year. Matt has just announced a headline tour of the UK and Ireland in February and March 2012. www.mattcardlemusic.com
After the event, shoppers were able to walk the famous Mile of Style under a canopy of glittering lights and visit the exclusive flagship stores along Regent Street, including Omega, Gant, Ferrari, Banana Republic, Armani Exchange, Anthropologie, Jaeger, Liberty, Apple and Michael Kors. Visitors were also able to extend the Christmas cheer in one of the many restaurants and bars located within Regent Street including the roof top venue Aqua.
David Shaw, Head of Regent Street Portfolio at The Crown Estate, said: “We are thrilled to mark the start of Christmas on Regent Street with our annual lights switch on event. We look forward to hosting large-scale events like this on Regent Street throughout the 2012 Olympic year”.
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS will be released at cinemas nationwide by Sony Pictures Releasing on 11th November. The 3D, CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas, an Aardman production for Sony Pictures Animation, at last reveals the incredible, never-before-seen answer to every child's question: “So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?” The answer: Santa's exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. But at the heart of the film is a story with the ingredients of a Christmas classic – a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero: Santa’s youngest son, Arthur. When this amazing operation misses one child out of hundreds of millions, Arthur, the least capable Claus, embarks on a hilarious, exciting rogue mission against the clock with his politically incorrect grandfather Grandsanta and a gift wrapping-obsessed elf named Bryony, to deliver the last present before Christmas morning dawns.
Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation present an Aardman production, Arthur Christmas. Starring the voice performances of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, and Ashley Jensen. Directed by Sarah Smith. Produced by Peter Lord, David Sproxton, Carla Shelley, and Steve Pegram. Written by Peter Baynham & Sarah Smith. Co-Producer is Chris Juen. Co-Executive Producer is Peter Baynham. Co-Director is Barry Cook. Music by Harry Gregson-Williams.
For further film information on the release of ARTHUR CHRISTMAS, please contact
Anna Whelan, Sony Pictures Releasing, anna_whelan@spe.sony.com
For film please contact:
Jo Whitehead at Freud Communications, johanna.whitehead@freud.com
For further information on the Regent Street Christmas Lights switch-on, please contact Sister:
Susie.howard@sisteris.com or Lucia.ruz@sisteris.com Tel: 044 207 287 9601
A B-roll will be available from 8pm on the night contact Sister for a copy
Images from the film can be downloaded from www.picselect.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
REGENT STREET
The world class shopping destination of Regent Street was one of the first purpose built shopping streets in the world and today celebrates over 180 years of shopping.
Regent Street is undergoing a £1bn investment and has attracted many new flagship brands including Anthropologie, Apple and Banana Republic, as well as the finest toy shop in the world, Hamleys.
There are two main food quarters in Regent Street, Heddon Street and Swallow Street. Visit regentstreetonline.com.
For further information and images of Regent Street and the Regent Street Christmas lights contact
Susie Howard or Lucia Ruz at Sister on 020 7 287-9601 or email susie.howard@sisteris.com or lucia.ruz@sisteris.com.
ABOUT SONY PICTURES ANIMATION
Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated entertainment for audiences around the world. The studio is following its worldwide comedy hits, the 2011 hybrid live action/animated family blockbuster, The Smurfs (3D) and the 2009 mouth-watering Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (3D), with the family comedy Hotel Transylvania (3D) in Fall 2012. The division is also in production with Aardman Animations on two feature films, the CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas (3D) in theatres November 2011 and the stop-frame animated high-seas adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits (3D) in March 2012. Open Season 3, the third adventure in Sony Pictures Animation's successful Open Season franchise, was released on DVD and Blu-ray January 2011. In 2007, Surf's Up received an Academy Award®-nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. Sony Pictures Animation is an operating unit of Sony Pictures Digital Productions.
- Website: http://www.sonypicturesanimation.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SONYPicturesAnimation
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/sonyanimation
ABOUT AARDMAN
Aardman, based in Bristol (UK), co-founded and run by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, is a world leader in animation. It produces feature films, television series and television commercials for both the domestic and international market. The studio has won over 400 international awards including 4 Oscars®.
Aardman’s highly creative stop-motion style and creative sensibilities have proven popular with critics and audiences around the world. In 2000, Chicken Run, their debut feature, took in nearly $225 million worldwide; since then, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit grossed nearly $200 million and Flushed Away, their first CG feature, earned $176million. All three films have achieved enormous critical acclaim, with the three films earning a total of 27 Annie Award nominations (the animation community’s highest honour). In addition, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was honoured with the Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature. http://www.aardman.com. In addition to Arthur Christmas, Aardman is also in production on Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists.
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