[title]
We’re now in mid-November, and the Christmas light switch-ons are coming thick and fast. Already this month, magnificent displays in Covent Garden, Carnaby Street and Leicester Square have illuminated the city’s streets.
If you want to catch a bit of festive spirit, you’ve still got time to see a Christmas lights switch-on. Yet to turn on its festive display is The Shard, which has just revealed the theme for its 2026 illuminations. Last year, the skyscraper’s Christmas lights were designed by a Colombian-born artist and member of The Shard’s housekeeping team Gustavo Zuluaga Villegas. The tower has done something similar again this year, collaborating with its staff members and their families.
RECOMMENDED: When every major London Christmas lights display will turn on for 2026.
The Shard Christmas lights switch-on date
The Shard Christmas lights will turn on at 4pm on Tuesday December 1. The display uses energy-efficient LED units positioned across The Shard’s top 20 storeys and will be visible from across London and up to 40 miles away.
The Shard Christmas 2026 display designs
This year The Shard’s Christmas lights will transform the tower into a giant illuminated advent calendar. Starting at 4pm each evening, a giant advent number will appear on The Shard’s spire before a door of light opens to reveal that day’s festive artwork. The sequence will repeat every 15 minutes, alongside bespoke animations featuring festive scenes such as Father Christmas and the northern lights.
People who work in the building, along with their families, contributed designs for the calendar. Children worked alongside contemporary abstract artist Kinga Szulakowska, who is also director of housekeeping at Shangri-La The Shard, to create the artworks that will appear on the building.
Szulakowska said: ‘It has been a real pleasure bringing the ideas of the children to life. We encouraged them to explore simple shapes, bold colours and what Christmas means to them, and it has been wonderful to see their imaginations transformed into artwork that will illuminate The Shard. Knowing that something created by our own community will be seen by people across London makes this project particularly special.’
It’s here: the exact date London’s Winter Wonderland opens for 2026.
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.