Commenting on this, Jonathan Glanz, Lord Mayor of Westminster said, "It's really important that we maintain the tradition because there is a unique friendship between the UK and Norway, symbolised by this tree that they send over each year from Oslo."
He continued, "Normally I would have gone to Oslo to chop down the tree, or participate in chopping down the tree, and the mayor of Oslo would have been here to participate in this ceremony, but that's not been possible because of travel restrictions and quarantine concerns. And normally we would have lots of people here, thousands of people, but this year, it's not been possible to do that so we have effectively tried to do it as much as we possibly can virtually and digitally to allow people to participate even though they can't actually be here in person."
"We are delighted that the shops are open, that people are back on the streets, and safely going about their business, everyone knows that it's not normal times, but we are getting closer to normal times and people are acting responsibly, taking necessary precautions but nevertheless doing their shopping and having fun," he concluded.
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