£1m tender launched for Oxford Street Christmas lights

A global tender is being launched by the New West End Company, which says it is seeking new designs for the display as Oxford Street undergoes a multi-million-pound refurbishment ahead of Crossrail’s launch in 2018.

The design of Oxford Street’s lights is refreshed every four-to-five years, and this year NWEC says it is seeking ‘a whole new direction’, citing international examples such as Tokyo’s Starlight Garden and displays in Venice and Madrid.

NWEC says it will consider designs for the Christmas lights that could be ‘anything from vast oceans of LED lights to 3D projections animating some of London’s iconic buildings’.

The deadline for applications is 20 March, and the Oxford Street Lights Creative Board, which will be appointed in April, will help to develop the selected designs. For more information and to request the tender, email christmaslights@newwestend.com.

The new design will be revealed at the switch-on event in November.

Jace Tyrrell, director of communications at NWEC, says, ‘We are seizing the opportunity to welcome designs from across the world, to really put the UK’s retail mecca on a world platform with a remarkable new display.’

Last year’s Marmite-themed Christmas lights were designed by DDB, working with manufacturer Piggots.