00:00Yes, it's Christmas in Covent Garden and few places capture London's festive spirit quite like this one.
00:12But behind the twinkling lights and the giant Christmas tree lies centuries of history in central London around this event.
00:23Covent Garden began in the 17th century as London's first planned square designed by architect Inigo Jones.
00:32What started as a market selling fruit, flowers and vegetables soon became the city's beating commercial heart.
00:40And then by the Victorian era, the market that we know today was thrived, packed with traders, carriages and the smell of pine and roasted chestnuts during Christmas time.
00:53A tradition of seasonal bustle that has become part of Covent Garden's character, one that is still very much lingers every December.
01:02Now, this year, Mission Impossible star Hayley Atwell and recent faithful on the celebrity traitors, national treasure Stephen Fry, were on hand to turn on the Christmas lights in Covent Garden.
01:19A tradition to get actors from screen and the West End to turn on the lights close to London's theatre district.
01:27So tonight we turned on Covent Garden's globally famous Christmas lights.
01:31So Covent Garden's Christmas theme this year is the Theatre of Christmas.
01:35We're here to celebrate all of the theatres and all of the culture that makes Covent Garden so unique.
01:40It has an incredible heritage of supporting the arts.
01:43We wanted to bring a little bit of that magic to the public this year.
01:47I think one of the things that makes it so special is the legacy.
01:50The Covent Garden is a very old area and an old city that's been celebrating Christmas for a very long time.
01:56So you feel close to the history of this city and its tradition and its rituals.
02:01I just love the feeling walking around with the Christmas lights and the music and the sensification.
02:06It's a thing that feels like it kick-started me off into the spirit.
02:09It's a wonderful occasion like this when everybody comes together to help a wonderful charity,
02:14to celebrate a glorious part of London, to boost prosperity, which we all need,
02:21and the merchants who operate here.
02:26And it just gives you a great Christmassy kick-start, I think.
02:29So there's nothing to dislike about it.
02:32You know that some people are more fortunate than others,
02:37and the only thing we can do to help people, you've got to do it.
02:40Oh, it's the buzz, the atmosphere.
02:42I mean, it's the 17th century.
02:45You know, it's such an old and beautiful collection of buildings.
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