Oxford Street’s Christmas lights switch on tonight, Monday, November 9, with a Harry Potter theme — but without the three young stars of the new Harry Potter television series, who pulled out hours before the event. The switch-on is tonight, with the event space opening at 2 p.m., the stage programme running from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., and the “Lumos” moment — when the lights go on — at 6:45 p.m., according to the official Oxford Street event page, updated on November 5. The event is free and unticketed, first come first served, and the host is Hits Radio presenter Sam Thompson. The lights go on between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and the Hanover Square Christmas tree, part of the display, will stay up until January 5, 2027. The Harry Potter theme is a first for the street, and the traffic-free format is a return to the way the switch-on used to be run — the first time in nine years that the street has been closed to traffic for the event. Oxford Street has been pedestrianised, from Orchard Street to Great Portland Street, including Oxford Circus, since October 26, 2026 — with buses, taxis and cycles banned and deliveries allowed only from midnight to 7 a.m.
The child stars pulled out
The three young stars of HBO’s new Harry Potter series — Dominic McLaughlin, who plays Harry, Alastair Stout, who plays Ron, and Arabella Stanton, who plays Hermione — have pulled out of the switch-on over protest fears linked to J.K. Rowling’s positions on trans rights, according to The Independent, first reported on November 4. HBO said it would “not involve our young actors in the official switch-on event”. The new Harry Potter Shop on Oxford Street — the UK’s largest official Harry Potter shop, at 21,000 square feet — opened on Wednesday, November 4, and trans-rights supporters protested on opening day. Whether any replacement celebrity will flick the switch has not been confirmed: Sam Thompson is the host, not confirmed as the person who switches the lights on.
Four Hogwarts houses light the street
The display itself is the biggest the street has staged: four 16-metre-wide double-sided Hogwarts house lights — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin — with more than 75,000 LEDs and 30 floating candles each, running from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road. The Harry Potter tree in Hanover Square has a Sorting Hat topper and an hourly snowfall show, in place until January 5, 2027. The switch-on is the next in a run of London lightings that began last week: Carnaby Street’s lights went on from Wednesday, November 4, and Regent Street’s from Thursday, November 5. Covent Garden follows on November 12. For anyone planning to attend tonight, the advice is to arrive early: the street will be closed to traffic, the crowds will be large, and the best views are from the middle of the street rather than the pavements.
Related: Christmas markets open: Birmingham and Manchester lead the UK.
