The City Tourism Office disclosed that the participating barangays include defending champion Santa Lucia; perennial contenders Del Pilar, Telebastagan, Santo Niño, and Dolores; San Juan, San Pedro, and San Jose; first time entrant Calulut and Del Carmen which is rejoining the race after 57 years.
The 10 Christmas lanterns, which are colorful modern-day replicas of the Star of Bethlehem, each has a diameter of 20 feet and are fitted with 4,000 to 8,000 bulbs.
An award of P100,000 awaits this year's winner while second and third placers earn P50,000 and P30,000 respectively.
According to historical accounts, the festival which is locally known as "Ligligan Parul" (Showdown of Lanterns) is believed to have started in 1908 when Francisco Estanislao built a giant lantern for a Christmas religious procession.
Through the years, several innovations were introduced in the competition namely the use of batteries in 1940, molding of steel wire as frame in 1950, and rotors in 1957.
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