Covent Garden switches on its Christmas lights on Thursday 12 November, with 300,000 lights and the West Piazza tree. Free; the start time is not out yet.

Covent Garden switches on its Christmas lights on Thursday 12 November 2026. The estate’s own event page says “SAVE THE DATE: Thursday 12th November”, promising more than 300,000 lights across the neighbourhood, the gold bells, mirror balls and baubles back on the Market Building, and a British-grown Christmas tree on the West Piazza. No start time has been published yet.

The quick answer

  • Date: Thursday 12 November 2026. Confirmed by Covent Garden.
  • Time: not announced. The estate says details of the switch-on events are “coming soon”.
  • Price: the organiser lists no ticket for the switch-on itself.
  • What happens: live festive performances, a countdown and “the iconic button push moment”.
  • Theme: “The Theatre of Christmas”, a seven-week season inspired by the area’s theatre history.

What is confirmed for 2026

All of this is from Covent Garden’s Christmas page and its switch-on listing.

Detail Status
Switch-on date Thursday 12 November, confirmed
Start time Not published
Lights More than 300,000 across the neighbourhood
Market Building Gold bells, mirror balls and baubles return
Tree British-grown, on the West Piazza
Season “The Theatre of Christmas”, seven weeks
Bar The Box Office Bar on the Piazza, back for a second year, serving mulled wine

One oddity on the listing: its date line reads “12th Nov 2026 to 13th Nov 2025”. The body text is clear that the switch-on is Thursday 12 November and part of the 2026 festive season, so treat the 2025 as a typo.

Covent Garden this winter, from the same pages

The estate’s Christmas page also lists:

  • Skate at Somerset House, 11 November to 10 January 2027, on the Strand. See our Somerset House ice rink page.
  • The Nutcracker by English National Ballet at the London Coliseum, 17 December to 10 January 2027.
  • Christmas Carol Goes Wrong at Wyndham’s Theatre, 18 December to 23 January 2027.

How it compares with the rest of the West End

Covent Garden has a confirmed date before most of its neighbours. Oxford Street and Regent Street had still not announced 2026 switch-on dates when we checked on 3 October; our West End Christmas lights page tracks them. Leicester Square’s Christmas market and rink opens on 31 October: see our Leicester Square page. The Trafalgar Square tree is usually lit on the first Thursday of December: see our tree lighting page.

Getting there

Covent Garden Tube station on the Piccadilly line is the closest, and Leicester Square and Charing Cross are short walks. If you plan to drive, see our parking zones and hours page and our roadworks and travel page before driving in.

Still to be confirmed

  • The switch-on start time and the performers. Covent Garden says more is “coming soon”.

We will update this page when the programme is published.

Sources