On one of the coldest nights of the year, crowds packed out St Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle to welcome back this festive tradition for the first time since the pandemic.
And that welcome, which went both ways, could not have been warmer. The gathered audience, trussed up in heavy coats and hats, were clearly delighted to be there on a frosty Thursday night and the mood was matched by the line-up on stage which - as always with this fundraiser in aid of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation - also had been kept under wraps.
Setting the tone from the off were the teenage talents of the Swing Bridge Singers who, along with a band, were on stage throughout, book-ending the night with Christmas carols and punctuating the upcoming songs and comedy sketches performed by local stars.
