Christmas officially comes to the capital this evening (Thursday).

The fun gets underway outside the Town Hall at six fifteen before the big switch-on of the town’s Christmas lights at seven o’clock.

There’ll also be a lantern parade through Douglas and Father Christmas and Rudolph will be on their sleigh.

Vandals damaged the Rotary sleigh but, thanks to local support, repairs have been carried out in time for the festive period.

President of Douglas Rotary is John Davis (audio file attached):

Christmas Promenade parking also starts this morning.

The Loch Promenade in Douglas will be available daily for parking between 9:30am and 9pm from today (Thursday) until January the fourth.

The arrangements have been put in place to help the capital cope with the extra Christmas traffic.

Motorists are warned that cars are parked at their own risk, as the walkway can be affected by stormy weather and high tides.