Regent Street Christmas lights in 2017 arrived with a street party, a canopy of angels and fireworks above the rooftops. I joined the crowds at the Piccadilly Circus end of the street to watch the evening unfold, then took a walk beneath the lights once the display was over.

This film was originally published on 17 November 2017. It records that year’s switch-on evening, with photographs drawn from the original footage. The street arrangements and entertainment described here belong to that visit.

A traffic-free Regent Street before the lights

I begin just off Piccadilly Circus, with the sweep of Regent Street behind me. A stage is waiting around the corner, and a large crowd has already gathered before the main event begins. Even before the lights come on, the evening feels different from an ordinary shopping trip.

Much of the street has been closed to traffic for the celebration. That gives everyone space to stand in the road and look up, away from the usual stream of buses, taxis and bicycles. It also offers a rare view straight along the street, with its illuminated buildings rising on either side.

The stage screen announces The Spirit of Christmas and asks the crowd to stand by for the switch-on. The original video description records a performance by Paloma Faith as part of the evening. In the finished film, however, the main sequence is a music-led view of the lights and fireworks, rather than a recording of the stage show.

Regent Street Christmas lights and fireworks

Once illuminated, the winged figures seem to float between the buildings. Long strands of tiny lights extend behind them, drawing the eye down the street. Looking upwards from the crowd brings the nearest angel into sharp relief against the dark sky.

Then the fireworks rise above the rooftops. White and green bursts appear behind the decorations, followed by brighter flashes and clouds of smoke. The fixed outlines of the angels remain visible while the colour and light change around them.

The red bursts give the scene a different character. Smoke catches the colour, and the pale wings glow in front of it. These are the moments that make the switch-on feel like a celebration in its own right: the street becomes both the setting and part of the spectacle.

Walking beneath the Christmas angels

After the fireworks, I continue looking along the decorated streets. There is time to notice details that are easy to miss during the display: blue illuminated globes, the spacing of the wings and the way the strings of light follow the buildings.

Back at street level, people fill the foreground beneath the angels. Shop windows and the lit façades add another layer to the view. The film moves between close views overhead and wider shots that show the scale of the decorations against the architecture.

A Christmas tree topped with a bright star appears towards the end of the walk. It is a quieter image after the fireworks, but it belongs to the same evening’s changing views of the West End. I finish back beneath the lights, delighted with the show and ready for the next Christmas outing.

Watch the Regent Street switch-on film

Watch the full 2017 film below for the arrival, fireworks and evening walk. You can also revisit the Regent Street Christmas lights in 2016 or continue through the season with November in London 2017.