The annual Ely Christmas light switch-on celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

The city will once again be transformed into a festive wonderland on Friday with thousands of people expected to turn out to enjoy the festivities.

There will be dozens of stalls, games, raffles and tombolas, fairground rides, carol singers and refreshments on offer alongside a packed line-up of acts on the main stage.

Located in Market Place, the stage will see performances from Jez-O the magician, singer Rebecca Storey, KD Theatre, CAT Theatre Group and plenty of other music acts.

The Ely Standard will be hosting a stand inside the city’s branch of WH Smiths, in Market Street, with copies of the paper and goodie bags available to those who drop in store – which is open until 8pm.

Headlining this year’s event will be Scottish boy band 4th State, with Cambridgeshire indie group Staycations also making an appearance.

The fun begins at 3pm, when the fairground rides open to the public, with stalls opening an hour later.

The cast of KD Theatre’s Cinderella will arrive in a horse-drawn carriage at 4pm, with Star Radio officially opening the ceremony on stage at 4.30pm.

Churches Together in Ely will be involved in the fun and Santa will once again be in his grotto.

Ian Newstead, who has organised the event for 10 years, said: “We started off with just a trailer and a few hundred people in our first year and we have built it up from there.

“Over the years the acts have improved, the stage and the lights have got better and better and we still thoroughly enjoy it. We will continue to do it for as long as we can.”

The main sponsor for this year’s event is Greys of Ely.