Sunderland Illuminations 2019: Big changes are on the way - here's what they are

City Council bosses have confirmed the Festival of Light event is moving from Roker Park to Mowbray Park, bringing it closer to the city centre.

The news comes as the council says its 2019 events calendar will be aimed at getting more people to visit the city centre, with new food and music festivals also planned.

The council has also said that the Sunderland Illuminations will remain on the seafront but will be extended to feature more lights from mid October into the new year.

The 2019 Festival of Light will run from November 21 to December 22.

Sunderland City Council Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture, Councillor John Kelly said: "We hope people like the new home for the Festival of Light, which will put it right in the city centre."

Coun Julia Jackson, who represents the St Peter’s Ward which has provided a home for the Festival of Light in Roker Park for a number of years, added: "The success of last year’s event had a huge economic impact on the city and plans to move the event to Mowbray Park will see the city centre economy benefit from the hundreds of thousands of visitors that attend the event each year."

Fellow ward councillor, Coun Barry Curran, said: "The Festival of Light has been a huge success in St Peter’s Ward and we look forward to watching it benefit the city centre when it takes up its new home this winter."