Which streets are already glowing, which big switch-ons are still to come, and how to see them without a human traffic jam.
LONDON, England (UK London Info) – If you are flying in for the festive season, here is the happy news: London does not switch its Christmas lights on once. It does it street by street, over weeks, which means there is almost certainly a switch-on near your hotel. The less happy news is that the dates are scattered, a few guides disagree with each other, and the busiest streets get properly packed. Here is a plain-English plan.
What is already glowing
By the time you read this, several of the West End favourites have already been lit. Time Out London’s switch-on calendar, updated on 4 November, lists the star-shaped lights in Leicester Square as on since 1 November (they stay up until 6 January), St Martin’s Lane on 3 November, Carnaby Street on 4 November and Regent Street on 5 November. Battersea Power Station has lights from 5 November too, though the same list says there is no official switch-on event there, so do not turn up expecting a countdown.
Carnaby Street’s theme this year is “Press Play on Christmas”, a neon tribute to British 1990s nostalgia, according to Visit London’s listing, which also says the display is free to see and gives Oxford Circus as the nearest station. Liberty, at the end of the street, has its own decorations and a Christmas shop, which is handy if you need a gift and a sit-down in one trip.
The switch-ons still to come
This is the part worth putting in your diary. Dates below follow the Time Out list unless I say otherwise, and a station is named only where a source gave one.
- Oxford Street: Monday 9 November, with a Harry Potter theme (more on that below).
- Knightsbridge: 10 November, with an eco-friendly design using 12,000 LED bulbs.
- Marylebone Village: 11 November, with the switch-on at 6pm, afternoon performances on Devonshire Street and a 55-foot Ferris wheel.
- Old Spitalfields Market: 11 November, with free face painting, crafts and a gospel choir.
- Covent Garden: 12 November, with 30,000 LED lights.
- Bond Street: 12 November at 7pm, with a live brass band countdown and 93,000 LED lights.
- Chelsea (King’s Road, Sloane Square and Sloane Street): 12 November, with crown-themed decorations.
- Fleet Street: 18 November, featuring twelve Dennis the Menace statues.
- Leadenhall Market: 19 November, with a light tunnel, live music and a 26-foot tree.
- St Katharine Docks: 19 November, with live music, a Christmas market and a Santa appearance.
- The Shard: 1 December, design not yet revealed.
Christmas at Kew starts on 13 November with a 3km light trail. Time Out says tickets must be booked in advance, and Country and Town House puts entry from 25.50 pounds, so treat Kew as a ticketed evening out rather than a stroll.
Oxford Street on Monday: what to expect
Oxford Street’s night is the big commercial one this year. Time Out’s report on the Oxford Street lights, dated 6 November, says the event opens around 2pm, the festivities run from 4.30pm to 7pm, and the designs mix classic stars with Harry Potter touches, timed to a new Philosopher’s Stone TV series due on HBO on Christmas Day. Sam Thompson hosts and Marvin Humes is lined up for DJ sets. The full illuminations are still being kept under wraps, so I cannot tell you what they look like. I can tell you that a street full of fans and a countdown will be busy.
One honest caveat: a different guide I read, Country and Town House, gave an estimated and unconfirmed date for Oxford Street and some conflicting dates for Carnaby Street. When guides disagree, trust the organisers’ own pages and the dated Time Out list, and check again on the day.
How to see the lights without being flattened
The Country and Town House guide offers sensible crowd advice that matches common sense: weekday evenings are calmer than weekends, mid-November is quieter than the weeks just before Christmas, and the last two weekends before 25 December are the worst. It also notes that most displays are lit by about 4pm, before the commuter rush at 5 to 6pm. Its tip to avoid Covent Garden station at peak times, because it is often exit-only then, is the sort of thing that saves a bad temper. Walk the West End where you can, and use the Tube only for the longer hops.
Wrap up warm, wear shoes you can stand in for an hour, and carry a contactless card, since the guide says most vendors accept them. If you are using buses between lights, note that the standard adult bus fare went up to 1.85 pounds from 1 November, per the same guide. If you want the full story of that change, we have a separate column on it.
A note for people who like their London with a laugh
If the queue for the hot chocolate is long, I have written plenty of London reading for exactly that moment. You can find more of my London visitor guides at The London Prat, and the paper’s London humor news section is good for the commute. The London Prat also keeps a Cockney rhyming slang explainer, which will help when a market trader tells you to “use your loaf”. And if you want Britain’s answer to the Onion in your pocket, or the wider comedy world at Bohiney Magazine, both make decent queue companions.
Before you set off, check the organiser or venue page for the exact switch-on time, because plans, headline acts and road closures can change. Then pick one street, arrive early, and let the rest of the lights come to you across the weeks. London will still be lit up when you get there.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/