Skip to content

Nostalgic look back at London's Christmas lights

London's Christmas lights will be begin to be illuminated from Thursday.

BBC London delves into the archive to see what the decorations looked like in the 1950s and 1960s.

2 November 2023

Christmas trees

Explore More

The world's smallest playing card being held against a normal size card

Watch: Man creates world's smallest playing cards

Actor Jeff Goldblum with a thumbs up while sat at a piano in St Pancras station

Jeff Goldblum plays piano at London rail station

Roy Castle OBE parasailing under Charing Cross Bridge. The houses of parliament can be seen in the background.

World record set parasailing under London bridges

World's tallest woman and shortest woman standing next to each other

Moment world's tallest woman and shortest woman meet

A woman with dark hair pulled back from her face wears a chef's whites. She is standing next to her cake shop window display, which features a large, iced igloo and cake penguins.

The gravity-defying stunt penguins made from cake

Hull & East Yorkshire

A performer spitting fire infront of an audience

Watch: La Clique returns to London's West End

A man moving sacks of vegetables

Watch: Fifty years of New Covent Garden Market

A blue car reversing into a Metropolitan Police motorbike

Watch: Met Police officer rammed off motorcycle

An aerial image of The Shard with white Christmas lights shining

Gareth Malone turns on The Shard's Christmas lights

A man dressed as a baked bean

Man dressed as baked bean rides first Eurostar

Children performing at The Habbit Factory

London sisters to star in Children in Need choir

A man places the final gold bauble on the Covent Garden Christmas tree

Watch: How Covent Garden gets its Christmas tree

A boy in a Kung Fu class

The Kung Fu classes helping kids with confidence

Big Ben strikes 11 on the first Remembrance Sunday in 1946

Watch: The first official Remembrance Sunday in 1946

BBC Radio London's Shay Kaur Grewal

BBC Radio London team finish swim challenge

Black liquid pours from with fluid collected from Tube seats into bucket

Watch: London cleaners reveal dirt in Tube seats

BBC presenter Shay Kaur Grewal swimming

Olympian trains BBC presenter for swim challenge

Aerial view of Oxford Street in central London showing the twinkly stars over the street with a double decker bus and cars driving with their lights on

Watch: Oxford Street Christmas lights switched on

Person on a bike, with their face covered, reaches out to snatch a phone from a pedestrian.

Watch: Thieves are caught after stealing 35 phones

Will Stone MP and MMA-fighter Matt Inman grappling in Brazilian jiu-jitsu match

Watch: MP takes on pro-MMA fighter in charity bout

Black ballet dancers performing in black trousers and silver tops

Celebrating 21 years of black British ballet

Classically British & Co recently put on a special performance for young Londoners.

A meerkat playing with a carved pumpkin

Dracula the meerkat enjoys Halloween pumpkin at London Zoo

Asiatic lions and meerkats at the zoo in central London receive a taste of Halloween with their own pumpkins.

A dog and a cat

How to keep pets safe during fireworks season

The experts at Battersea Dogs & Cats home have come up with some advice for pet owners.

Person dressed as a witch standing next to a cauldron. She is surrounded by fog which is illuminated by red and green light.

Watch: Kew Gardens gets spooky Halloween makeover

Kew Gardens has swapped plants for poltergeists in a new light trail for Halloween.

A man pruning roses in a community garden

Crowdfund saves at-risk community garden

Forest Hill Library Community Garden was fighting to stay open after funding ran out.

Presenter, Kate Kinsella smiles whilst immersed in river water. She is surrounded by ten other swimmers

‘I took on London’s most unforgiving swim challenge’

BBC weather presenter Kate Kinsella took on the Serpentine swimming challenge for Children in Need.

Split screen picture shows an image of police and the car from bodycam footage on the left and Nick Eardley on the right

BBC Verify looks at what happened on the night Chris Kaba died

This week the Metropolitan Police released bodycam footage showing the moments leading up to the fatal shooting.

Chris Kaba is seen in a nightclub in footage released by the CPS

Footage of Chris Kaba in nightclub on night of shooting

Chris Kaba, the man shot dead by a police firearms officer in London, is seen with a gun days earlier, in footage released by the CPS.

Ashley Gordon aka DJ AG Online

TikTok DJ on a mission to spread positivity

Ashley Gordon, aka DJ AG Online, says he wants to bring people together through music.

Marilyn Wyatt holding up a pair of knitted hearts

The group knitting hearts to help comfort families

Nimble Fingers Knitting Group makes woollen hearts to comfort the families of those in hospital.

A man on a bike just before he's arrested by police

Phone snatcher arrested after help from passers-by

Members of the public step in to help officers catch the suspected thief near St Paul's Cathedral.

The word menopause on a lightbox surrounded by pills

Doctor answers your menopause questions

Dr Philippa Kaye answers questions and offers tips on how to deal with menopause.

Exterior of Euston Station in 1969

When Euston Station was shiny and new

With Euston making headlines, we've gone back to 1969 to look at the recently rebuilt station.

RIBA president Muyiwa Oki

RIBA president on London Stirling Prize finalists

Muyiwa Oki talks us through this year’s London hopefuls for the prestigious architecture prize.

A blue Amazon branded vehicle partially mounts the pavement, pulling up paving slabs and bollards.

Watch: Amazon lorry crushes bollards

Watch the moment an Amazon lorry was filmed mounting the pavement in Ealing, crushing bollards.

A school pupil with her bucket of kindness

How London children are filling buckets with kindness

Pupils at a south London school have been learning about kindness.

Georgia, Conor and baby Harper

'Love in the air' - 100 weddings in a day at one venue

Couples paid £100 to tie the knot at Old Marylebone Town Hall, which celebrates its 100th birthday.

Image from CCTV footage showing smoke surrounding upside down bin

Warning after gas bottle explodes in bin lorry

The refuse worker was rushed to the hospital with dizziness and hearing issues following the blast.

Exterior of Old Marylebone Town Hall

How do you prepare for 100 weddings in one day?

London's Old Marylebone Town Hall is celebrating a century of weddings by hosting 100 in a day.

Shobna Gulati and Meera Syal in rehearsals

Play explores Alzheimer's impact on families

A Tupperware of Ashes tackles how a family copes when the matriarch is affected by Alzheimer's.