NORAD Santa tracker 2024 LIVE: Father Christmas and his reindeers finished their journey around the globe
SANTA Claus has officially concluded his annual journey around the globe as Christmas celebrations near the end.
In a statement provided by the head elf to the Reuters news agency, Santa – as well as his trusted reindeers Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen – all safely left Lapland at 9am UK time on Christmas Eve.
The Father Christmas paid a visit to several locations in the UK before heading further west.
Here at The Sun, we'll be providing updates throughout the day on the provided by NORAD — the North American Aerospace Defense Command — which delivers real-time tracking of Santa's movements.
You can follow our live blog, below, for all Santa's movements...
Santa's back home now
Santa Claus has finished his duties for this year and safely returned home.
NORAD said Santa got back to the North Pole shortly after 5am yesterday after delivering 8,186,671,107 Christmas presents.
What is the Norad Santa tracker?
Formed in 1958, Norad defends and monitors the skies over North America.
The agency has for decades fielded children’s questions about Santa's delivery schedule.
Santa in the coldest city in the world
Santa Claus has visited the coldest city in the world - Yakutsk.
Located in Russia and only 450km from the Arctic Circle, the temperatures there fall below -40 Celsius in December.
But for Santa, who lives in the North Pole with similar temperatures, it wasn't a challenge.
The story behind Santa Claus
Saint Nicholas, the historical figure who inspired the modern-day Santa Claus, is a beloved saint in Christian tradition.
He was a 4th-century bishop of Myra (modern-day Demre in Turkey) and is known for his generosity, miracles, and compassionate spirit.
Saint Nicholas was born around 270 AD in the Roman province of Lycia, in the town of Patara (present-day Turkey).
Raised in a wealthy Christian family, he lost his parents at a young age and inherited a substantial fortune.
Rather than keeping the wealth for himself, Nicholas dedicated his life to serving others, living out his faith through acts of charity.
A glimpse of Santa's face
Credit: Cicero Moraes/Pen News With Santa flying faster than the speed of sound, it is nearly impossible to catch a glimpse of his face.
Luckily, scientists have reconstructed his likeness and revealed what his face would look like.
Cicero Moraes, lead author of the new study, said it was a “strong and gentle face”.
Santa brings smiles to children at hospitals
Big-hearted Daisy Tullett poses with Father Christmas as he hands her a gift wrapped in the paper SHE created to help other sick children.
The brave eight-year-old came up with a Santa design as part of The Sun on Sunday’s Christmas Wrapping For Kids campaign to raise money to buy presents for youngsters in hospital.
In an extraordinary twist, she was on a ward at Birmingham Children’s Hospital when Santa brought the gifts — purchased with the proceeds of her winning artwork.
So by sheer coincidence she has become one of the beneficiaries too.
Earlier this year we asked our young readers to draw Christmas pictures to be turned into limited-edition wrapping for our great charity push.
Santa brings smiles to children at hospitals thanks to our army of readersSanta's trip to Vegas
An official account for a music arena Sphere has shared footage of Santa Claus arriving to Las Vegas.
On their X account, they posted a video of Santa circling the iconic building.
Although NORAD shows that Santa has in fact visited Las Vegas, it is unclear if the video is just an illusion or an actual Santa.
The Sun has reached out for a comment to Santa's team.
Grinch arrested
Christmas was saved by the Irish police and Santa Claus in Dublin.
was paying a visit to Scoil Catriona in Coolock, , ahead of the Christmas holidays when someone not so festive made an appearance.
Alongside Santa, was seen lurking at the corner of the playground.
He arrived on a scooter and could be seen throwing it on the ground before leaping toward Santa.
The two brawled for a moment before Gardai intervened and apprehended the Grinch.
Onlookers cheered with delight as the villain was placed into the back of the Garda car.
Watch moment Gardai arrest and handcuff the GRINCH at Irish primary school as Santa visits childrenSanta's spotted in Switzerland
Another sighting of Santa Claus was reported in Montreux, Switzerland as he soared in the sky above the Christmas market.
It's not confirmed yet whether it was the Father Christmas himself or his impersonator.
Santa's team has been approached for a comment.
Santa's security team
Canada wasn't left without attention either as Santa Claus was filmed flying above the CN Tower in Toronto.
On his way to Canada, Santa's entourage was escorted by Royal Canadian Air Force, ensuring his safe travels across North America.
Santa goes to Africa
Although there is no video footage from Santa's adventures in the African continent, there have been multiple sightings of the Claus reported.
Santa and his team of loyal reindeers have been spotted in all 54 countries of the continent, including Lesotho, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Congo, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda.
Where did Santa go in South America?
Santa has been spotted flying over the south American continent as he delivered presents to the kids in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay.
The Father Christmas was caught on exclusive footage as he soared in the skies of Rio De Janeiro.
He made sure to pass his congratulations to the statue of the Christ the Redeemer on his birthday.
A look at Santa's journey
Santa has finished delivering his presents all over the world but here's a look at his journey.
Santa began his across the globe at around 9am on Christmas Eve in the South Pacific, moving on to , , , , , , Central America and .
Santa's stopover at Beckham's
Santa's been spotted flying over London and appears to have made a stopover at Beckham's.
David Beckham invited Santa into his lavish London home for a festive Christmas Day singalong – and fans are delighted.
The former footballer and his wife Victoria Beckham got into the festive spirit by having Father Christmas himself over for a visit.
Watch as David Beckham invites Santa into his London home for a festive Christmas Day singalongSanta visited the US
Santa has been spotted all over the United States from the freezing Alaska to the sunny Florida.
Santa spotted in Dublin
Santa Claus landed safely at Dublin Airport from the North Pole shortly after midnight this Christmas.
The Irish Aviation Authority has said that airspace was cleared so that the jolly figure's could land safely at Dublin Airport anytime after 6pm on Christmas eve.
Santa arrived at Dublin Airport at around 00.10am with "perfect" weather conditions and mild temperatures.
Beginning of a Christmas tradition
NORAD began tracking Santa in 1955, when a child accidentally rang a military command asking to speak to Father Christmas.
Luckily, on-duty officer Harry Shoup, who took the call, played up the part and confirmed he was indeed Santa Claus.
As more calls came in that night, Shoup assigned a duty officer to continue answering the phone, starting the tradition.
The duty was passed over to who carried it on when it was formed in 1958.
Santa has been spotted in Thailand, Tokyo ... and Jerusalem
There have been numerous pictures, below, coming in from the main news agencies of "Santa" out and about delivering presents to children around the world on Christmas eve.
At the time of writing, however, we have been unable to confirm if these Santas are in fact the real Father Christmas.
Santa's office has been approached for comment.
Credit: GETTY 
Credit: EPA 
Credit: REUTERS 
Credit: Reuters Santa spotted in London
Santa arrived right on schedule to England and was spotted circling the skies above the Parliament in London.
Santa spotted ... on a scooter in Germany
There have been numerous pictures of Father Christmas out and about delivering presents to children around the world yesterday – but the latest one, below, is from a solitary Santa on a scooter in Germany.
At the time of writing, however, we have been unable to confirm if this latest sighting is, in fact, the real Santa.
Santa's little helpers in the North Pole have been approached for comment.
You can follow us here for all the latest updates. If it's really him below we'll let you know ASAP.
How many chimneys did Santa go down?
With approximately 2.4 billion children on the planet, Father Christmas had to squeeze himself down approximately 800 million chimneys yesterday.
Santa has visited more than 190 countries to make all of those stops.
How many gifts has Santa delivered?
According to data supplied by NORAD, which is tracking his every movement across the globe, Santa has now delivered more than 8,186,671,107 parcels.
Welcome to The Sun’s Santa tracker live blog
Santa Claus finally came to town and you can watch his journey live as the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) once again tracks him on his way around the globe.
According to a press release sent by Santa’s head elf to the Reuters news agency, he set off at 9am Christmas eve … so put on Fairytale of New York and check if he's visited your house.
Merry Christmas!
Credit: YOUTUBE 
Credit: YOUTUBE How does Santa manage to cross the world in just one night?
According to NORAD, the “only logical conclusion” as to how Santa is able to traverse the globe in one night is that he “somehow functions within his own time-space continuum”.
“NORAD intelligence reports indicate that Santa does not experience time the way we do. His trip seems to take 24 hours to us, but to Santa, it might last days, weeks, or even months,” the agency stated.
Where has Santa been spotted in the UK?
- Southampton
- Cardiff
- London
- Durham
- Carlisle
- Edinburgh
- Belfast
