Bolton’s Christmas attractions have been hailed a huge success after bringing thousands of visitors into the town centre.
Around 30,000 people flocked to Bolton to either have a go on the giant snow slide, a skate on the ice rink or visit Santa’s grotto.
A total of 16,993 skaters enjoyed the ice rink, 8,707 thrill-seekers dared to go down the huge slide, and 3,095 children visited Father Christmas.
The council arranged the special Christmas programme, from December 10 to January 8, to attract visitors and boost town centre trade over the festive period.
The town centre was transformed into a sparkling seasonal attraction, with an artificial 55-metre snow slide in Newport Street, a covered ice rink in Victoria Square and Santa’s grotto in Oxford Street.
Other attractions included camels, reindeer, a Santa’s Express train, and an artisan market with a vintage bus bar and 40 traders selling a range of produce.
Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Cliff Morris said: “This has been the best Christmas programme we’ve had in Bolton.
“Our Christmas attractions were hugely popular and we welcomed tens of thousands of visitors from all over the region.
“Word definitely spread that if you wanted to do something a bit different for Christmas then Bolton was the best place to be.”
The University of Bolton sponsored the slide and the covered ice rink was sponsored by Market Place Shopping Centre.
University of Bolton Vice Chancellor, Professor George E Holmes DL, added: “On behalf of the University of Bolton, we’d like to congratulate Bolton Council for their successful Winter Festival this year.
“As one of the sponsors of the festival we are pleased that so many people visited and enjoyed the winter themed fun.
“It outlined the fantastic things we can achieve when town and gown collaborate and we look forward to working with the council again for other events in the future.”
Market Place Centre Manager, Nikki Wilson-Cook, said: “We’re thrilled that the winter wonderland was such a huge success and the ice rink proved a popular attraction.
“The event creates such a great atmosphere in the town and brings members of the community together throughout the festive period which is great for the prosperity of Bolton as a whole.”