THE city’s Christmas light night will make a triumphant return to Broad Street this year.

On Friday, November 20, hundreds of children will carry handmade paper lanterns through the streets to launch the Christmas Light Festival 2015.

It follows a blow last year when the event was cancelled by Oxford City Council, which cited safety concerns due to the high number of attendees.

This year, the festival, from Friday, November 20 to Sunday, November 22 is partly being funded by a £15,000 grant from the Arts Council.

Councillor Mark Lygo said: “I am thrilled that the city council has been able to secure funding. The Christmas Light Festival is a highlight of the year for many and tens of thousands of people have attended in previous years.”

He said they hadn’t worked out the specific arrangements to address safety concerns.

The festival will include a Christmas market in Broad Street at the weekend themed around ‘Light and Energy’, and a light and sound trail by Oxford Contemporary Music (OCM).

For the first time since 2010 the parade itself will centre around Broad Street.

At a time yet to be confirmed by the council, the procession on the Friday will leave New Inn Hall Street and weave through the streets to Broad Street.

Overall, 240 youngsters from eight primary schools around the city will be involved. A Dancin’ Oxford stage in Gloucester Green will host live performances afterwards.

OCM deputy director Victoria Bosher said: “The parade is a really lovely moment. We will be working with a few different artists to create installations.”

At the same time, OCM is co-hosting an ‘orchestra’ event at the Bodleian Library in which participants of all musical abilities can show up and join in a version of Handel’s Messiah, timed to coincide with the end of the parade.