Organisers estimate that about 335,000 people lined the streets of Adelaide for its 94th Christmas Pageant on November 14, as the city’s festive season began. The parade ended with the arrival of Father Christmas.

Families arrived early to find viewing spots, while hundreds of performers gathered near South Terrace and King William Road. Five new floats joined the line-up, including The Magic Hat and A Bumper Christmas.

Children’s entertainer Emma Watkins, known as Emma Memma, returned after making her pageant debut the previous year. She took part in The Sounds and Signs of Christmas. Watkins said her co-performer Elvin Lam, who is profoundly deaf, was joining the parade for the first time and would sign throughout it.

Questions over the Magic Cave

The pageant’s arrival of Father Christmas also comes as the future of Adelaide’s Magic Cave has been questioned. The Christmas attraction, located inside David Jones at Adelaide Central Plaza, has been part of the city’s festive season since 1998, when its original host, John Martin’s, closed. It welcomed Father Christmas this year and will continue operating for now, but longer-term plans are unclear.

David Jones went into voluntary administration last week. Nineteen of its 38 stores in Australia and New Zealand are slated to close. In South Australia, stores at Westfield Marion and Westfield West Lakes are due to shut by the end of the year, while the Rundle Mall store is set to remain open.

Local attendee Erin said she regarded the Magic Cave as an Adelaide icon and wanted it to remain part of the city’s Christmas celebrations, saying children looked forward to it.

A family tradition

Some pageant-goers had been waiting since early morning. Kunal Dhingra said he and his family arrived at 6am. A local grandmother recalled watching the parade on her father’s truck on King William Street as a child, and said she now enjoyed it with her grandchildren.

The organisers’ figure is an estimate, rather than a final attendance count. The pageant was the 94th edition of the annual parade.