Harry Potter Christmas lights are coming to London’s Oxford Street
London’s Oxford Street is getting Harry Potter Christmas lights this year, and the UK’s largest official Harry Potter Shop opens on the same street in November. Both are timed to the HBO series, which premieres on Christmas Day.
Lights timed to the series
The partnership is set up to celebrate both the Christmas launch of the HBO series, which opens with an eight-episode season of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and the opening of the Harry Potter Shop Oxford Street, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Behind the lights are HBO Max and the New West End Company, according to Shortlist. Dee Corsi, chief executive of the New West End Company, called it “a historic moment for Oxford Street.”
What we know so far
The street’s familiar star lights aren’t going anywhere. They will be combined with a series of new Harry Potter designs, but those are being kept under wraps until the switch-on, writes Time Out.
No switch-on date has been confirmed yet. Oxford Street’s lights usually go up in early November.
Getting around on foot should also be easier this year. Around half of the busiest shopping stretch becomes pedestrianised from 26 October, Shortlist notes.
Diagon Alley on Oxford Street
The shop opens on Wednesday 4 November at The Ribbon, 134–140 Oxford Street, close to Tottenham Court Road station, according to Visit London. With more than 21,000 square feet over two floors, it is the UK’s largest official Harry Potter Shop.
The design is inspired by Diagon Alley. Highlights include a towering Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon inspired by Gringotts Wizarding Bank and a full-sized Knight Bus.
There is also a Leaky Cauldron-themed area exclusive to this location, serving Butterbeer in several forms, from Frozen Butterbeer to Butterbeer Ice Cream. Exclusive merchandise includes a Diagon Alley wand, an Oxford Street Funko POP! and MinaLima artwork.
If the lights follow their usual early-November schedule, both will arrive within days of each other. Time Out expects the lights to debut alongside the shop’s opening, which makes early November the moment to plan a festive Harry Potter trip to London, well before the series premieres on Christmas Day.