Adelaide Christmas Pageant draws 335,000 as festive season begins

An estimated 335,000 people lined the streets of Adelaide on Saturday for the city's 94th annual Christmas Pageant, the traditional start of the festive season in South Australia.

Families arrived early to claim the best viewing spots along the route near South Terrace and King William Road, where hundreds of performers and a long line of floats entertained the crowds under grey skies. Five new floats joined this year's line-up, including The Magic Hat and A Bumper Christmas, before the much-anticipated arrival of Father Christmas brought the parade to its climax.

Children's entertainer Emma Watkins, better known by her stage name Emma Memma, returned for her second pageant, appearing on the float The Sounds and Signs of Christmas. She was joined for the first time by her co-performer Elvin Lam, who is profoundly deaf and signed throughout the entire parade, part of a push to make entertainment accessible to deaf and hearing children alike.

The day carried one note of uncertainty. The Magic Cave, the children's Christmas attraction hosted at Adelaide Central Plaza since 1998, after its original host John Martin's closed, is hosted by department store David Jones, which entered voluntary administration last week with 19 of its 38 stores across Australia and New Zealand marked for closure. In South Australia, the Westfield Marion and Westfield West Lakes stores will shut by the end of the year, though the Rundle Mall store that houses the Magic Cave will remain open, and the attraction continues to welcome visitors for now.

Families described the pageant as a tradition handed down across generations. One grandmother recalled watching from the back of her father's truck on King William Street as a child and said she would now attend even without her grandchildren. A young visitor, Miabelle, looked forward to a large teddy-bear float and spending time with cousins. Kunal Dhingra said his family had arrived at 6am and welcomed the mix of backgrounds among the crowd. Another local parent, Erin, said she was bringing her baby to a tradition she had enjoyed as a child and wanted the Magic Cave to remain.

Illustrative Christmas tree decorations, not the Adelaide parade or its floats.