Covent Garden Unveils A Magical Christmas Programme Of Festivities

• Over 115,000 lights, giant nutcrackers, daily snowfall and a 55ft British grown Christmas tree will decorate Covent Garden
• Disney's Frozen will exclusively debut a series of family-friendly experiences including a Frozen Forest and Frozen Infinity Chamber
• An immersive LEGO® installation will return to the Piazza, transporting families into a colourful brick-built world
• London's only American Express Christmas Shopping lounge will open, with bespoke gift wrapping and experiences
• Covent Garden will launch a Christmas Sandwich Festival from 15th-24th November
• A Covent Garden Christmas Village complete with Festive Food Markets and Dome Dining experiences becomes London's newest foodie destination
• Special one-off weekend of discounts and offers from 9th-12th December for Covent Garden 'Gifts Back' Shopping Weekend
• The Winter Warmer Mulled Wine & more Festival will return running from 10th-24th December
• The Gift for Good charity auction will return with money can't buy prizes, raising money for Only a Pavement Away combatting homelessness in London
• Exclusive gifts available from favourites such as Dior, Tiffany & Co., Mulberry, Ganni, A.P.C, Charlotte Tilbury, Chanel, Ganni, Tom Ford, Paul Smith and more
• New store openings from Lisa Eldridge, Guerlain, e&e, Bullard's Gin, and more
• Festive dining experiences from must-visit Balthazar, Flat Iron, SUSHISAMBA, The Oystermen, Frenchie, Petersham Nurseries, The Ivy Market Grill, Shake Shack and more

Covent Garden will transform into a winter wonderland this Christmas with a magical programme of festivities. The central London neighbourhood will dazzle with its much loved Christmas tree and iconic decorations, as well as must-visit events and attractions. Disney's Frozen will be 'freezing' iconic Covent Garden locations, Covent Garden and American Express will open London's only Christmas Shopping lounge, whilst Covent Garden will play home to London's first-ever Christmas Sandwich Festival. The East Piazza will transform into Covent Garden's Christmas Village complete with banquet themed dining experiences plus the much loved Winter Warmer Mulled Wine & more Festival and online charity auction "A Gift for Good", will return for a second year.

The entire neighbourhood will be decorated with over 115,000 twinkling lights embellishing the historic streets and Piazza. The iconic 55ft British grown Christmas tree will be adorned with 30,000 lights and the Market Building will see the return of its much loved giant baubles, mistletoe and mirror balls. New this year will be giant nutcrackers that will stand guard to the Royal Opera House Arcade as well as a stunning Maison de Fleurs festive floral archway that will mark the entrance to the Apple Market, home to British crafts and Christmas gifts.

Covent Garden continues its long term partnership with Disney by bringing the magic of the newly launched West End musical sensation Frozen the Musical to the Piazza from Tuesday 9th November until 3rd January. Visitors will immerse themselves in the Frozen Forest on the North Piazza, where Christmas trees dressed with snow, ice and Frozen decorations will be dusted with daily flurries of snow every hour from midday until 7 pm, accompanied by an instrumental rendition of Let It Go. There will also be a final flurry at 9.30pm each day for visitors to enjoy post theatre performance.

On Saturday 13th November, 10 Frozen ice-sculptures depicting characters from the musical will be installed on the North Piazza for visitors to snap and enjoy live ice-carving in partnership with The Ice Co. Frozen decorations will also span the estate including Frozen iterations of Covent Garden's famous flower barrows, the Insta-famous Infinity Chamber having an icy makeover to appear frozen, with an additional 3D neon installation at both the Long Acre and Floral Street entrances.

From the 9th November daily snowfall will also take place hourly from midday - 7pm in front of Covent Garden's much loved Christmas tree on the West Piazza, turning the area into a winter wonderland. Plus, every Friday in December, a Fujifim expert from the Fujifilm House of Photography will be on hand with their Instax camera to capture instant snaps of visitors and their loved ones that they can take away.

From 1st December, Covent Garden will partner with American Express to offer AMEX card holders £10 back when they spend a minimum of £50, across any of Covent Garden's participating brands. As part of the partnership, during the first three long weekends in December (3rd-5th, 10th-12th & 17th-19th December), American Express will welcome all shoppers to an American Express Winter World lounge located on Floral Street. From 10am-7pm guests can take a break from shopping and step into a Christmas haven where they can enjoy luxury gift wrapping tutorial services, an enchanting Christmas lighting experience and festive refreshments before leaving with complimentary tote bags.

An immersive LEGO® adventure will return to the Piazza for the second year running. Live from 1st December - 3rd January, the installation will be a must-see family attraction, inviting families to explore a playful and colourful brick-built world. Inspired by the 2021 LEGO® Holiday TV advert, the creative installation is a not-to-be-missed experience including the likes of a rocket race car, firefighting dragon and cactus Xmas tree. Families and friends will be able to walk all around the installation for free and guests can finish their visit with a trip to LEGO®'s Christmas shop selling a bespoke range of LEGO® gifts.

Covent Garden will also offer traditional Christmas Market magic. A new Covent Garden Christmas Village will open its doors with a snowy traditional winter town popping up including a festive food market, a winter forest archway, Santa's sleigh and a Christmas tree forest featuring eight luxury bauble themed dining domes in partnership with Ramsbury Single Estate Gin, offering bookable banquet experiences. Expect menus full of seasonal and traditional festive food and innovative fun cocktails and drinks with bookings now available. The village has been designed by award-winning film-set designer Sonja Klaus, creating the perfect festive Instagrammable setting. Elsewhere, the iconic Apple Market will be decorated by a show-stopping archway by luxury florists Maison de Fleurs and will be selling traditional gifts and high-quality crafts.

New for 2021, Covent Garden will welcome a Christmas Sandwich Festival across a number of its much loved restaurants and new pop ups. Running from 15th-24th November, the estate has challenged their famous eateries to create new takes on the classic Christmas sarnie. As part of the festival, Covent Garden has also partnered with Feast It who will bring new pop up vendors each offering novelty Christmas sandwiches such as The Smokey Gaucho, Mr Pig Stuff and The Cheese Toaster among others. Throughout the festival, guests will be able to choose from over 15 Christmas sandwiches, from classic fillings of turkey and cranberry, wacky fillings of brussel sprout stuffing and the finest of fillings including truffle. Options will be available for both grab and go or to dine in across 9 sites including Frenchie, Avobar and Ladurée.

Following last year's success raising £15,000, Covent Garden is delighted to announce the return of the Gift for Good online charity auction running from 25th-28th November. Proceeds go to the charity Only A Pavement Away, which works alongside Crisis on their mission to end homelessness. Covent Garden will auction off money-can't-buy prizes from retailers and restaurants across the estate, including a handbag and limited edition experience from Mulberry, a wreath making experience at Petersham Nurseries, a personal shopping experience and a £250 voucher from Paul Smith as well as a one night stay at the new NoMad London with a guided tour of the Bow Street Police Museum & Magistrates' Court. More details and full list of prizes will be unveiled soon.

From 9th-12th December visitors will be able to enjoy the Covent Garden 'Gifts Back' shopping weekend which will see shoppers getting something extra from over 20 Covent Garden stores taking part offering one-offs offers and gifts with purchases. All visitors can enjoy discounts and offers at a variety of stores including Agnes B, GANNI, KICKGAME, NARS, Moleskin and Lulu Guinness as well as free gifts from the likes of Penhaligon's and Strathberry.

For Christmas shopping, Covent Garden will be the place where to find exclusive gifts that cannot be found elsewhere from the best British and global fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands. Covent Garden stores offering perfect Christmas treats, exclusive presents, gift wrapping and personalisation include Paul Smith, Bucherer, Polo Ralph Lauren, Mulberry, Vashi, Arc'teryx, Lacoste, Sandro, Strathberry, Tiffany & Co., ba&sh, A.P.C, Free People and more, plus a number of beauty brands including Dior, Chanel, Jo Malone, Tom Ford, Charlotte Tilbury and Aesop. New stores opening in time for Christmas include luxury accessories brand Strathberry, as well as jewellery brand e&e, heritage fragrance house Guerlain and make-up artist to the stars Lisa Eldridge will be opening the House of Eldridge, a pop-up of her eponymous brand on the Royal Opera House Arcade.

From 10th - 24th December, Covent Garden will bring back The Winter Warmer Mulled Wine & more Festival, with festive pop-ups serving unique takes on mulled wine for Londoners to enjoy some winter-al-fresco fun. For a glass of festive mulled wine or a hot toddy throughout December, visitors should look no further than Covent Garden, with over 25 varieties served across the estate from some of Covent Garden's most-loved bars and restaurants including Ladurée, Darjeeling Express, Frenchie, Mariage Freres, Mrs Riot and more. For a tipple to take-away, visitors can head to Dirty Martini X Diageo's pop up bar on the West Piazza to enjoy hot spiced-gin punch, hot chocolate, mulled wine and more. A number of retailers such as VASHI, ARKET and Paul Smith will also be serving festive tipples in-store whilst guests shop.

Covent Garden restaurants and bars will also continue to offer weatherproof drinking and dining for visitors, with over 1000 outdoor dining seats across 55 restaurants, with heaters, umbrellas and windbreak screens. Global and independent restaurants offering outdoor dining as well as space for festive meet ups include Sushisamba, The Oystermen, La Goccia, Frenchie, Cora Pearl, Mariage Frères, La Goccia, The Petersham, Da Henrietta and more. New openings include the four storey townhouse 3 Henrietta Street; Big Mamma group's latest sensation Ave Mario or Asma Khan's Darjeeling Express. Visitors looking for a treat for the whole family can choose from The Ivy Market Grill, Flat Iron, Buns & Buns, Din Tai Fung, Shake Shack or Sticks 'n' Sushi.

The estate will continue to be the home of culture with Covent Garden's favourite The Royal Opera House showing The Nutcracker from 23rd November until 8th January for family entertainment during the festive period.

For festive celebrations, and a wide selection of experiences, shopping and dining, Covent Garden is the ultimate destination to celebrate the festive season. For further information visit Coventgarden.london