Photo credit: © Luis Erick Mota Pacheco/Shutterstock.com
With just eight weeks until Christmas, in a matter of days the first festive light displays will be switched on in London. See our guide below for all the details.
Oxford Street, 3 November
300,000 LED lights will be turned on over London’s most famous shopping street on 3 November, followed by A Big Day of Joy on 7 November – an event which will include live performances and festive experiences to help raise funds for the fantastic Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Piccadilly, Regent Street & St James’s, 6 November
The iconic angel light display is returning to Regent Street, Piccadilly, Jermyn Street and St James’s from 6 November. There will also be a Wishing Tree at St James’s Market which lights up with every donation to The Felix Project, an amazing food redistribution charity.
Carnaby Street, 6 November
Carnaby Street, known as the centre of London’s fashion scene since the 1960s, will light up for the festive season on 6 November. This year’s theme is All is Bright, and the 60,000 LED light display promises to be a multicoloured spectacular.
Covent Garden, 12 November
The theme for Covent Garden’s festive display this year is The Theatre of Christmas. An incredible 30,000 LED lights will illuminate the giant tree in the piazza, and a further 260,000 LED lights will light up the piazza and surrounding streets. Decorations will include giant bells, bows, baubles and mirror balls.
Bond Street, 12 November
Mayfair’s beautiful Bond Street, known for its designer boutiques, will be adorned with 93,000 LED lights inspired by the Crown Jewels. Teamed with the spectacularly inventive festive window displays, we anticipate this to be absolutely stunning. There will also be the Ralph Lauren Giving Tree, raising funds for the wonderful Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
Trafalgar Square, 4 December
This year marks the 78th anniversary of the City of Oslo gifting the people of London the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree.
The lighting of the tree will take place on 4 December. Festivities will include carols from the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Regent Hall Band of the Salvation Army, the reading of a poem from the children of Westminster and a performance by The Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines Collingwood.