In a break from tradition, Cork City Council is to host a Christmas experience installation in City Hall this year, instead of at the usual location in Bishop Lucey Park on Grand Parade.

The local authority has put a project out to tender for the design, delivery and management of an indoor Christmas experience within the Millennium Hall and Eglington Street foyer at City Hall.

A description of the tender says that it includes the “end-to-end delivery of the production, including but not limited to the development of a concept, the design, delivery and implementation of this concept, on-site management, ticketing and crowd management”.

The move to an indoor event marks a break from the traditional GLOW experience presented by the council which sees Bishop Lucey Park magically transformed into a winter wonderland for several weeks during the festive season.

A spokesperson for the council said that the change of location this year is because the city centre park will be unavailable due to the proposed redevelopment works.

“The Arts & Events section currently has a request for proposals posted on eTenders regarding an indoor Christmas event in City Hall. I can confirm this is due to the proposed works in Bishop Lucey Park.

“Regarding the redevelopment of Bishop Lucey Park - our programme currently has us going to construction in Quarter 4 of this year,” they said.

The deadline for submissions for the Christmas experience installation is Friday, August 26 at 12pm. 

In other Christmas-related news, the date of this year's Late Late Toy Show has also been revealed. 

Speaking on his RTÉ Radio 1 show yesterday morning, Toy Show host Ryan Tubridy said that the highly-anticipated annual show is set to take place on Friday, November 25, with applications now open for young stars looking to perform or demonstrate a toy.

Parents/guardians can fill out an application on behalf of their child via RTÉ's website.