Tree ceremony marks decades of friendship

THE mayors of Newcastle and Bergen have celebrated a friendship between the two cities that dates back more than 70 years at the Civic Centre's annual Christmas tree lights switch-on.

- DANIEL HALL

From 1949-2022, Bergen had sent a Christmas tree as a gesture of friendship and gratitude for support during the Second World War.

The tree has not been sent for the past three years due to environmental concerns, though a delegation from Bergen still head over every November. Instead, the mayors of both cities now give a Christmas decoration made by local artisans for each other's trees as a continued token of friendship inside St Thomas' Church.

Despite the rain, Bergen's mayor Marit Warncke joined the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Coun Henry Gallagher, for a short carol service as the tree was lit, then blessed by the Very Reverend Lee Batson, Dean of Newcastle.