Lights on an 80-foot Christmas tree brought from Norway to Trafalgar Square were switched on last night.
The 150-year-old pine tree was cut down in the forests of Oslo and brought across the North Sea as a token of gratitude for Britain's help in the Second World War. (Also see our picture gallery.)
The tradition was celebrated for the 58th time when Oslo mayor Per Ditlev-Simonsen pressed the light switch together with Westminster mayor Catherine Longworth at 6.30pm.
Hundreds of people braved the biting cold to sing Christmas carols lead by the choir of St Martins in the Field church.
The tree will be on Trafalgar Square until January 6, the twelfth night of Christmas. Every night from December 4 to Christmas Eve the public can join a free programme of carol singing around the tree.
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