Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
Birmingham Christmas Lights Switch-On
Birmingham city centre's lights switch-on — 2026 date not yet announced.
The organiser has not yet confirmed this year's dates, and the dates circulating online are either estimates or carried over from a previous year — so we are not publishing them as fact. No date announced for the city-centre switch-on. Local switch-on dates circulating online (9 and 15 November) match 2024's weekdays.
- Address
- Birmingham city centre
Birmingham switches on its city-centre Christmas lights as the Frankfurt Christmas Market gets going, and several of the city’s districts — the Jewellery Quarter, the Colmore business district and Edgbaston Village among them — hold their own switch-ons too.
Why there’s no date here yet
The city-centre switch-on for 2026 has not been announced. Some local switch-on dates are circulating online — “Saturday 9 November” in Edgbaston and “Friday 15 November” in the Jewellery Quarter — but those weekdays fit 2024, not 2026 (9 November 2026 is a Monday). We will list confirmed dates as they are announced.
What usually happens
Live entertainment in the city centre building to the switch-on, with the German market’s stalls lit alongside.
Getting there
New Street, Moor Street and Snow Hill stations are all within a few minutes’ walk of the city centre.
Make an evening of it
The Frankfurt Christmas Market opens on 5 November and runs along New Street and into Victoria Square, so the lights and the market are an easy pairing.
When will we know?
We are checking the official source weekly and will update this page the day the dates are confirmed. In the meantime, our What’s open? tool shows the markets that have confirmed dates for any day you’re travelling.
When the dates are confirmed, dress for standing still outdoors in the cold — see our guide to what to wear.