‘The City of Waterford is an extraordinary jewel of Christmas harmony and aesthetics and represents values such as solidarity, which lies with the local communities as well as a strong commitment to its heritage as a hallmark of identity, material and above all immaterial and culture.’-International judging panel
Waterford City has been awarded the title of European City of Christmas 2024. The European Capital of Christmas committee grants two awards annually. The first being the European Capital of Christmas for cities of over 100,000 people and the City of Christmas for European City’s of smaller populations. The former was won by Brno in Czechia and the latter by Ireland’s oldest city.
Winterval, Ireland’s biggest and best-loved Christmas festival will form the basis for Waterford as the European City of Christmas 2024.
As Ireland’s First dedicated Christmas festival, created by Waterford City and County Council in partnership with local stakeholders in 2012, year after year the festival has attracted on average 500,000 visitors throughout its six-week calendar. Waterford Winterval now in its 11th year in 2023, offers over 40 events 20 of them free of charge and it runs from Nov 17th-December 23rd for more information Visit https://www.winterval.ie/
