Christmas festivities have offically begun in two south Wales cities after the seasonal street lights were lit on Thursday night.

Newport and Cardiff held separate ceremonies - each with celebrity guests - to turn on thousands of coloured lights.

We have got more lights than ever because we wanted to make this Christmas very special for the city

Malcolm Hall, City Centre Partnership

This year will be the first Christmas that Newport will have as a city, after it was upgraded from town status as part of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations.

To mark the occasion, musician Mal Pope hosted the switch-on in John Frost Square, supported by the Phil Dando Big Band.

Acts including Mayonnaise, Noise Candy, The Dragouts and Open Fire were joined by DJs from TJ's club.

Malcolm Hall, Director of the City Centre Partnership, said his team had tried to deliver a bigger and better atmosphere.

Singer Darius Danesh will perform in Cardiff

"We have got more lights than ever this year because we wanted to make this Christmas very special for the city," he said.

A fireworks display also formed part of the evening's entertainment.

In Cardiff, the switch-on was combined with the start of the last leg of the Network Q Rally of Great Britain.

Ninety rally cars paraded through the city centre after the lights were turned on.

Pop Idol finalist, Darius Danesh starred at the St Mary Street event, and performed for the audience.

Councillor Marion Drake, Cabinet Member for Culture, who turned on the illuminations said: "This is just the start of six wonderful weeks of seasonal celebration in the city.

"Over the forthcoming weeks, the Civic Centre and the City Hall lawn will be transformed into a winter wonderland for families," she said.

Jan Anderson will help customers buy presents

Ms Drake added that an open-air ice rink would be put into place at the end of November.

On Thursday night, more than 20 television and sporting personalities also took part in a celebrity shopping night at Howells.

Jan Anderson, who starred as Chloe in the BBC hospital drama Casualty and Olympic athlete Colin Jackson were among the celebrities serving customers.

They were helping people choose and pack Christmas gifts to raise funds for Princes Trust Cymru.