October 11, 2012 3.41 pm This story is over 137 months old

Early start for Lincoln Christmas Market

Christmas cheer: The 2012 Lincoln Christmas Market will have an early start on Thursday, December 6, from 12pm instead of 4pm.

The 2012 Lincoln Christmas Market will have an early start on Thursday, December 6, from 12pm instead of 4pm.

With just two months to go until the event, organisers at the City Council said the market will be open until 9.30pm on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th (10am start), and then on Sunday 9th from 10am to 7pm.

In response to crowd control issues at last year’s Christmas Market, the City of Lincoln Council is changing the layout of the event.

A redesigned layout in the Castle grounds should give visitors more space to move around.

Stalls will also be located around the Cathedral east green, between Bailgate and Newport, and along Eastgate.

Crowd control

Holly Parker, Events Officer at the City of Lincoln Council, said: “Anyone who came to last year’s Christmas Market will have noticed how very busy it was, and at times this spoilt people’s experience of the event.

“We’ve taken advice from national crowd control experts when designing the layout of this year’s market, including Professor Keith Still, who advised on the Olympics and the royal wedding.

“We’ve made numerous changes, including fewer stalls in the castle grounds, and spreading the stalls around the cathedral, up Newport and down to the bottom of Steep Hill.

“We need to address the crowd issues, and our advisors have put a one way system in place on Steep Hill. However, we are now asking for business owners to tell us their preferred option – the option they think will best serve businesses. This way, we can keep visitors safe and happy, and also make the most of the Christmas Market for local businesses. I hope businesses will respond to our survey so we can make an informed decision.”