A Sheffield councillor has called for a return to the big Christmas lights switch-on in the city centre next year – and he wants the country’s biggest Christmas tree.

Coun Raouf Maroof questioned the decision to cancel the big lights switch-on event this year at yesterday’s monthly meeting of Sheffield City Council (December 3).

The council in November announced that it was cancelling the popular event for the second year running because of safety concerns over the numbers attending. The 2023 event was cancelled because of renovation work taking place on Fargate.

The council said that instead the Christmas lights and festive market in the city centre would be launched last month with a weekend of family events.

Sheffield city centre lit up with Christmas lights and a festive market.

placeholder image — Sheffield city centre lit up with Christmas lights and a festive market.

Racially-motivated posts on social media have wrongly claimed that the event was cancelled because the city this year has a Muslim lord mayor.

Coun Maroof asked Coun Mohammed Mahroof, who chairs the council’s economic development, skills and culture policy committee: “Will you now give a firm commitment to celebrate Christmas next year with a big switch-on that all Sheffield can enjoy?”

Coun Mahroof replied: “The lights switch-on has been running in Sheffield for generations. We do deserve a grand switch-on in December 2026.

“I would also like to think we would reintroduce the lord mayor’s parade.”

Coun Maroof said that Sheffield has a 40ft Christmas tree but there is a 40-metre-high tree in Northumberland. National Trust property Cragside Hall claims to have the UK’s biggest living Christmas tree.

“Is there any reason that Sheffield, the best city in the world, doesn’t have the biggest tree?” he asked.

Coun Terry Fox joked that the council is again talking about chopping down trees, presumably a reference to the street tree scandal.