The Strand is officially getting into the Christmas spirit. Installation crews have finished putting up this year’s Strand Christmas lights above one of central London’s most famous streets, with 96,000 low-energy LED lights now in place ahead of the big switch-on.
The lights stretch the length of the Strand and along neighbouring Villiers Street, and will be switched on in a ceremony on Thursday, November 12 — less than a month away.
At a glance
- What: 96,000 low-energy LED Christmas lights installed along the Strand and Villiers Street
- Switch-on: Thursday, November 12
- Design: glittering fairy figures inspired by the Savoy Theatre
- Cost: free to view throughout the festive season
A theatrical design
This year’s display takes the form of glittering fairy figures, a design inspired by the street’s theatrical heritage — and in particular by the Savoy Theatre, which opened on the Strand in 1881 as the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity.
The Strand’s illuminated history
The Strand has a long association with light and spectacle. In the Victorian era it stood at the forefront of the capital’s illuminated age: its playhouses — the Savoy, the Adelphi, the Vaudeville and the Lyceum among them — made it one of the brightest streets in Europe after dark. This year’s fairy figures are a nod to that history of stagecraft and illumination, bringing a theatrical flourish to the winter skyline.
The fairy theme also reflects the Strand’s place in the story of electric light itself. When the Savoy Theatre opened its doors in October 1881, its auditorium glowed with more than a thousand incandescent lamps — a sensation at a time when most theatres still relied on gaslight. The street outside soon followed the fashion for illumination, and the Strand became synonymous with glittering winter nights long before today’s LED displays.
A boost for the West End’s winter economy
The display lands just as the West End prepares for its busiest season of the year. The Strand links Trafalgar Square with the City and sits at the heart of Theatreland, flanked by grand hotels and landmark venues. Every winter, evening crowds of theatregoers, shoppers and sightseers stream along the street, while nearby Somerset House draws thousands more to its famous courtyard ice rink. With the festive trading period crucial for local businesses, the lights are expected to give the area’s evening economy a welcome lift.
The installation is one of the largest festive lighting projects in central London this year, with tens of thousands of individual lamps rigged above the roadway by specialist crews working through the night to avoid disrupting daytime traffic.
When London’s other lights switch on
The Strand is only the start of the capital’s Christmas lights season. Carnaby Street’s 90s-themed display will be switched on on November 4, while Regent Street will close to traffic for its switch-on night. Covent Garden’s lights are also due to go on on November 12, and the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree — London’s annual gift from Norway — will be lit on December 3.
In north London, Hampstead’s Christmas lights switch-on takes place on November 15, with a mystery celebrity guest lined up.
Planning your visit
The Strand’s lights are free to view and will stay on throughout the festive season. The switch-on ceremony on November 12 is expected to draw big crowds, so visitors heading into central London are advised to plan their journeys in advance.
Once lit, the display will join a crowded calendar of festive switch-ons across the capital, cementing the Strand’s place on the Christmas map alongside its better-known West End neighbours. For many Londoners, the moment the fairy figures flicker on will mark the unofficial start of the countdown to Christmas.
