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In the words of Mariah Carey: it’s tiiiiime. Halloween is dead and gone, and now, it’s finally an acceptable time for the Christmas countdown to get underway. Festive illuminations are already being turned on across London, Xmas markets are beginning to open and Yuletide tunes are starting to permeate every shop, cafe and bar. Of course, the city’s annual Christmas makeover isn’t complete without its trees – and one of its most beloved, the St Pancras Christmas tree, has just been unveiled.
Last year, the station’s ‘tree’ was an emerald homage to the Wicked movie, and the year before it was made out of more than 3,000 books. For 2025, the structure has been created in collaboration with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and is inspired by a music box.
The golden installation, titled ‘Powered by Dreams’, stands 12m high in the centre of the station, adorned with 180m of fairy lights and a spiral of 158 glowing baubles, with an ornamental clockwork winder at the bottom. Just like a traditional music box, the tree gently turns to a soothing tune and is topped by a ballerina (based on a real dancer from the GOSH Charity-funded GOSH Arts programme, who visits children and their families on the hospital wards).
Thirty-eight children from GOSH were invited to draw their ‘wishes for the future’ that were then printed on the baubles that decorate the tree. Their dreams include becoming an Olympic gymnast, training to be a pilot, or travelling into outer space. Overall, it took 30 craftspeople and 1,800 hours to bring the tree to life.
There’s a peaceful seating area at the base of the structure along with buttons that activate the music, braille text to represent patients with sensory loss and a donation box that’ll go towards GOSH. The public can peak through ‘dream windows’ and watch as childrens’ written notes are processed through a ‘dream machine’ and turned into baubles. There’ll also be a scaled-down replica at the hospital itself for any kids and families unable to see the tree at St Pancras.
ICYMI: When every London Christmas lights display will be turned on for 2025.
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