WITH just 64 days to go until Christmas, details of Bury's Christmas light switch on have been revealed.

Shoppers are being invited to join in with the festive spirit when Andy Day from CBeebies and his band, the Odd Socks, take to the stage at The Rock for the big switch on on Thursday, November 8.

Day is one of the most popular children’s personalities in the UK and is widely known for his antics tackling dinosaurs, investigating baby animals and being on safari.

The line-up also features R&B singer Lemar, who shot to fame after finishing third in the first season of Fame Academy in 2002.

To date, he has had seven UK Top 10 singles and sold more than two million albums worldwide.

He featured on ITV’s Dancing on Ice in 2018 and is expected to release new music this autumn ahead of his his eighth studio album.

The switch on will be hosted by Tower FM, and will run from 5:30pm until 7:30pm.

The evening's entertainment will also include a number of local acts and groups from the Carol Godby Theatre Workshop are also set to perform.

The switch on is free to attend, and throughout the evening a competition called #ChristmasUnwrapped will take place – where the prize is a family trip to Disneyland Paris.

On the day, visitors can enter by collecting one of 1,000 silver gifts from the Tower FM street team.

Entrants must keep hold of these until the presenters say they can be opened. One lucky gift holder will win the prize. The silver gifts will be given out on a first come first served basis.

A competition is also running until this Friday to find Andy Day’s odd socks around the centre, with the winners given the chance to attend a special meet and greet with the star before he takes to the stage on the night.

The event marks the beginning of the Christmas season for The Rock. The centre’s Santa’s Grotto will officially open at the shopping centre on Saturday, November 24, following the Santa’s Arrival parade in the morning.

Meanwhile, The Rock Express will return in December to transport festive shoppers around the town until the end of the month.

The Rock's centre director, Arnold Wilcox-Wood, said: “Our Christmas Lights Switch On is one of the biggest events in our calendar and once again we’re aiming to pull out all the stops to make it a wonderful night to remember.

“Following the success of last year’s event, we’re really excited to welcome two hugely popular names to The Rock. We’re sure Andy and the Odd Socks will be a huge hit with the children and Lemar will be a great crowd pleaser too."

For more information, visit www.therockbury.com.