BARNSLEY Town Hall has been transformed into a high-tech canvas with its walls used to display a vivid digital projection celebrating the town’s past, present and future and Christmas.

Thousands attended the light and sound show on Wednesday, which also marked the start of a four-day Bright Nights festival, the switching on of the Christmas lights and a firework display. But a technical hitch with the sound system meant much of the crowd couldn’t hear any of the entertainment or what was said, and the music which accompanied the projection was quiet and muffled.

However Coun Roy Miller said the event was a success nonetheless and encouraged people who attended on Wednesday to come back and see the show again now the sound has been fixed it’s on until tomorrow.

“Barnsley Bright Nights is a brilliant new event and one that we’re all proud of,” he said.

“The opening night attracted thousands of people into the town centre. This included people from outside of Barnsley, giving us a fantastic opportunity to showcase our town centre to a new audience. The world-class light projection onto the town hall is something completely different to anything we’ve had before. It drew in live TV coverage on Wednesday night giving us another opportunity to show off what Barnsley has to offer to potentially hundreds of thousands of people.

“Just before and during the first showing of the projection, we suffered a technical hitch with the sound. This was rectified and didn’t affect the quality of the projection, which was clear for all to see. I’d like to encourage people to come and view the projection again now the issue has been rectified. The light installations and shows in St Mary’s Church, The Cooper Gallery and Mandela Gardens drew in thousands of people collectively, and we hope people join us for and support the remaining nights of the event.”

The projection can be seen from 5pm to 9.30pm tonight and tomorrow.