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London Christmas lights 2026: switch-on dates and how to get there
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The short answer
Carnaby Street switches on Wednesday 4 November, Regent Street Thursday 5 November, and Bond Street and Covent Garden Thursday 12 November. Regent Street closes to traffic 5pm to 9pm that evening; Bond Street 4pm to 8pm, with the lights on between 6pm and 7pm. Carnaby's event is free but needs a ticket. Oxford Street has not announced a switch-on date: its Harry Potter lights are confirmed, the date is not.
Every date and time below comes from the street’s own website, read on 29 October 2026. Where a street has not published something, we say so instead of guessing. Plenty of sites list dates for every street; several of those are last year’s dates or estimates.
Switch-on dates 2026
| Street | Switch-on | What the street’s own page says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carnaby Street | Wed 4 November | Music from 4.30pm. Free, but you sign up for a ticket. Theme “Press Play on Christmas” (90s). | This is Soho |
| Regent Street | Thu 5 November | The Festive Spirits return; Regent Street closes to traffic from 5pm to 9pm. | Regent Street, 1 Oct 2026 |
| Bond Street | Thu 12 November | Closed to traffic 4pm to 8pm; lights on between 6pm and 7pm after a countdown with a brass band. Free, no ticket needed. | Bond Street |
| Covent Garden | Thu 12 November | Annual switch-on at the Market Building and West Piazza; Christmas programme runs from 12 November. No time published yet. | Covent Garden |
| Oxford Street | Not announced | “Harry Potter is lighting up Oxford Street this Christmas.” No date on its pages yet. | Oxford Street |
Checked: 29 October 2026. We will add Oxford Street’s date and Covent Garden’s time when they publish them.
Before you go
- Evening crowds, weekday trains. All three switch-on evenings are a Wednesday or a Thursday. The Night Tube runs on Friday and Saturday nights only, so on these evenings you are on the normal last Tube. Check your own line on the last Tube tool.
- Oxford Street has no buses now. Since 26 October the stretch between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street is closed to buses, taxis and cycles all day. Routes that used it end at Marble Arch or run along Wigmore Street; the details are in Oxford Street goes traffic-free.
- Regent Street and Bond Street close to traffic during their events (above). Expect bus diversions for those hours, and check TfL’s status page before you rely on a bus there.
- Carnaby needs a ticket, Bond Street does not. Regent Street and Covent Garden do not say on the pages we read.
- The switch-on night is the busiest. The lights stay on through the season afterwards (Covent Garden’s programme runs seven weeks from 12 November), so a later evening is calmer.
Eating after the switch-on
The switch-ons finish in the evening, when most West End kitchens are still open. If you are out later, where to eat in London after midnight explains why hot food gets scarce after 11pm, and central London open late lists the places we have checked.
Getting home
- The Tube runs as normal on these evenings; last trains differ by line and station. Last Tube times by station.
- After the last Tube on a Wednesday or Thursday: night buses. London after the last train explains the options.
- Feeling unsafe or lost in a crowd: getting home safely at night.
More Christmas in London
Every day from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day, with what is confirmed for 2026: the Christmas-week board. Then Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve.