#TLC: Festival of lights ignites excitement, anxiety among Lagosians

Gov. Fashola flagged by eminent dignitaries during the festival of lights last year

The Festival of Lights is the first item on the programme of events for the Lagos Countdown which would take place on the 19th of December. You will find below an interesting article and enthralling photos of the event which started last year.

 ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ is a familiar idiom. However, during the December festive period in Lagos state, we do not have to wait to get to the end of the tunnel before we see the light because the light is at the entrance illuminating the tunnel.

The lightning effect, the blaze of colours, the razzmatazz and the synchronised spectacle in its grandiloquence typifies the festival of lights.

The festival of lights, which started last year, is organised by Lagos State Signage and Advertisements Agency (LASAA) in conjunction with the Lagos State Electricity Board.

The Lagos Countdown begins when the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola officially “switches on” the Lagos Festival of Lights, heralding the holiday season with thousands of decorative lights from the entire stretch of the Marina through Ahmadu Bello Way to Bar Beach.

Last year, the Festival of Lights train rode in the Open roofed Eko Tourist Bus from Marina through the stretch to Ahmadu Bello Way to the cheers and colourful displays of several groups who dotted the road, arriving at the Akin Adesola junction of the Bar Beach which had been a centre point of a carnival like celebration to usher in the holiday season programme.

Lagos is again set to play host to a world class cross over festival. One thing that keeps reverberating in these activities is the desire to etch Lagos credential of being a tourist centre among the upper echelon tourist zones.

According to Gov. Fashola, the Lagos Countdown “means much more tourism exposure” coming along with “investment, opportunities and possibilities”.

Corroborating the State Governor’s stand, Managing Director of Lagos State Signage and Advertisements Agency (LASAA), Mr George Noah said:  “the strategic intent for hosting the event is to put Lagos on the global tourism map in the league of cities  as New York, London, Sydney, Paris, Los Angeles and other major destinations that will be commemorating the cross over”.

This year promises to be better than last year’s celebration and as Mr Noah puts it: “It would be a new year unlike any before, as we will be celebrating in Lagos with the whole of the world participating with us”.