SINGAPORE —  A Christmas Village, inspired by those in Europe, will make its debut at the annual Orchard Road light-up this year.

The village, to be set up outside Ngee Ann City from Nov 25 to Christmas Day, will feature pop-up stores from 25 brands including Starbucks, Fish & Co, and Toast Box.

A two-storey carousel will entertain parents and children for S$5 a ride.

Mr Mark Shaw, chairman of the Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA), called the village a way to “up the ante” for local shoppers and tourists. At a media conference on Wednesday (25 Oct), he unveiled the line-up of this year’s celebrations – the ninth edition of Christmas On A Great Street, which will run from Saturday, Nov 11, until Jan 1 next year. The theme this time round is Endless Wonder.

“Christmas villages are very popular in Europe,” said Mr Shaw. “A Christmas Village would also be a good opportunity for retailers to reach out to customers.”

Besides the village, photo-worthy highlights include a 12m-tall main arch outside Ion Orchard and a 5m Enchanted Tree installation outside Wisma Atria. Live bands, carollers and roving cosplayers will also be staging performances daily.

This year, Christmas cheer will begin at 3pm instead of the usual 6.30pm along the 2.88km stretch between Tanglin Mall and Plaza Singapura (including Scotts Road).

Asked why the lights would be turned on in the afternoon, Mr Shaw said: “This year’s installations lend themselves to being lit up earlier... The hanging globes are clear, and they contain LED lights within them. And even in the daytime you can see the points of light coming out, so it makes them look more reflective.”

Each of the 1,200 hanging globes that will be strung on trees consists of coloured fabric intertwined with LED fairy lights.

ORBA is expecting the event to draw 3.6 million visitors this year. On the sharp drop compared to the 6 million visitors counted last year, the association said this is due to a different calculation method. In previous years, anyone who entered the event area would be counted as a visitor but from this year, visitors surveyed will be asked specifically if they are there for the event.

Mr Shaw said he is confident the “experiential” initiatives this year will draw visitors for businesses on Orchard Road, which have reported sluggish retail figures in recent years.

“We recognise that the whole retail sector has been affected by the disruptive effects of e-commerce, as well as the proliferation of suburban malls,” said Mr Shaw. “We are confident that these initiatives will make Orchard Road a more vibrant shopping and lifestyle destination.”