UK Edition
Cathedrals report record Christmas attendance as congregations return for carols and candles
Cathedrals saw their best-ever Christmas attendance last year, new figures released by the Church of England show.
Statistics show that 131,000 people attended services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day last year, compared to 125,000 the year before, the highest level since they were first recorded in 2000.
Senior figures suggested that the traditional music and buildings were attracting an ever-younger crowd who did not normally attend church.
The number of people attending during Advent also rose, from 624,000 two years ago to 635,000 in 2016.
Overall Sunday attendance had also increased, from 17,900 in 2015 to 18,700, though midweek attendance had fallen from 19,100 to 18,200 each week.
Interest in events such as choral evensong has pushed up cathedral attendance in recent years, as young people in cities rediscover the traditional evening worship events held at flagship cathedrals including St Paul's.
Andrew Nunn, the Dean of Southwark Cathedral, said he believed Londoners were more likely to go to cathedrals because they had high standards for entertainment.
"In a place like London people are used to going where they know they can get a good product.
"We spend a lot on music so you get a guaranteed product, same with the preaching.
"The place needs to be clean, well maintained, you don't want to go somewhere where there's piles of rubbish hanging around.
"So cathedrals can maintain those standards which are more difficult for a local church," he said.
He said the cathedral's carol services had been particularly popular and the age profile was "getting younger".
"It's an easy way into Christmas. It's not like going to Holy Communion, which requires participation - you can participate in your own way.
"It's a good experience, it's excellent music, beautiful surroundings, familiarity of tunes, people around them, everyone singing along," he said.
The figures also showed that the total number of choirs was the highest since 2013, at 990.
However, the number of visitors to cathedrals fell from 9.53m to 9.03m. A report released earlier this year by Visit England found that visits to religious buildings had fallen by 8 per cent, amid rising entry fees.