Beverly Hills Trimmed Its Holiday Lights This Year. Here's What Still Glows, and What Went Dark.

When the Rodeo Drive lights come on next month, the 400 block will have four times as many overhead strands as originally planned. Over on Camden Drive and La Cienega, the colored lights and canopy décor that marked past Decembers won't go up at all. Both decisions came out of the same City budget review. Together they redraw the map of where the holidays happen in Beverly Hills this year.

The 2026 season is concentrated in a smaller area. Rodeo Drive gets more light, the outer commercial streets get less, and the one-night celebration that opens the season now has private sponsors paying for part of it, which has never happened before. Here is what that means for someone who lives here and plans November and December around these blocks.

Rodeo Drive gets more light than planned

The original plan for Rodeo Drive was garlands strung across the street. The City dropped it. According to the City Council staff report from the September 1, 2026 study session, the streetlight poles on Rodeo didn't have the structural strength to carry the garlands safely. The same report says the Rodeo Drive Committee and City Council still wanted an "elegant, high decor feature across the street." The aim was to draw eyes upward on a block that currently has a lot of construction on it.

Instead, the City expanded the "dripping" lights that have hung in the median palms for several years. The lights move slowly, and this year they go on every sidewalk palm as well. New strands will also run from the sidewalk out to the median, 16 in all, where the garland plan called for four. The redesign costs the same as the décor budget Council had already approved. The City's Public Works department reviewed it and found no risk to the trees, to pedestrians or to vehicles.

The construction the report mentions is a long-term part of the street. In November 2025, Beverly Press reported that the new Tiffany & Co. building at 360 N. Rodeo Drive was scheduled to start construction in February 2026, with completion targeted for June 2028. The same article covered the Planning Commission's approval of a Frank Gehry-designed Louis Vuitton flagship at the north end of Rodeo. Lights that hang high over the street work no matter what is going on at ground level.

Where the color comes down

The rest of the city's décor went through a zero-based budget review. The goal was to cut annual costs by 50%. The 2026 décor came in 37% cheaper, mostly by dropping some items and scaling back others instead of buying new equipment. Council first reviewed the reductions at its April 21, 2026 study session.

Block by block, it breaks down like this.

One cut won't show this year but matters going forward. The citywide twinkle lights will now be replaced every other year instead of every year. Staff are also looking at lighting every other tree in some areas.

The Triangle keeps its bows, garland and background audio, and the Santa and Reindeer display and the Wilshire spans return. The core of the business district will look much like it has in past seasons. The plainer blocks are at the edges.

The celebration itself costs more, and sponsors cover part of it

The holiday budget has two pieces. The décor, which stays up all season, is approved at $566,959.20. The one-night Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration totals $712,575, which includes $667,575 in City funding. The money comes from the Tourism and Marketing budget, which is funded by hotel occupancy tax, not from residents' property taxes. According to the staff report, the committee "restated their desire to prioritize the longer-term décor over the one-day event."

The City budget covered the core of the event but left out two items, a second wine garden and fireworks. The fireworks are back because the Rodeo Drive Committee lined up local sponsors for the first time. Gearys, Auto Vault and Two Rodeo Drive are contributing an estimated $45,000, enough to cover the fireworks finale. The report notes that the event "has not traditionally had a sponsorship model." If more sponsors sign on, the second wine garden could be added back.

The program also changed. There is no headliner this year. The City chose a local talent search plus a group of professional performers instead. In 2025, Beverly Press reported a Nutcracker-inspired theme with performances by Chris Mann, Hugh Sheridan, James Tormé, Bei Bei and Debbie Allen Dance Academy. The 2026 stage has host Aly, DJ Lady Sha, vocalists The Noelles, the Tenors, an LED violinist, and a Pacific Islander-themed holiday performance. Guest performers come from Debbie Allen Dance Academy, For the Record, The Wallis and West Side Ballet.

The new part is "Rodeo Drive Has Talent." It was an open call for vocalists, variety acts, solo artists and bands, with applications accepted from September 14 to October 12. A judging panel was to pick one winning act, or up to three if the field was strong, and announce the result on October 20. The winner performs live on the Brighton Way stage. Beverly Press covered the open call in September.

Street entertainment includes holiday skaters, stilt walkers, an oversized tricycle, and Santa with his "red carpet security." For the photo op, the Beverly Hills trolley is parked as a backdrop. With the Jolly Trolly discontinued this season, that is the trolley's role this year. There will be one wine garden, along with food trucks and stands from local businesses.

The 33 hours around November 19

The celebration runs Thursday, November 19, 2026, from 5 to 8 p.m. across all three blocks of Rodeo Drive. It is free and open to the public. That is six days later than in 2025, when the event ran November 13 from 5 to 8:15 p.m. Past celebrations have drawn up to 10,000 people.

The street closes well before the stage goes live. Closures for setup, the show and teardown run from Wednesday, November 18 at 9 p.m. to Friday, November 20 at 6 a.m.:

• Rodeo Drive from S. Santa Monica Boulevard to Wilshire Boulevard
• Dayton Way from Rodeo Drive to the alleys on either side
• Brighton Way from Rodeo Drive to the alleys on either side

The City's Brighton Garage and the Two Rodeo Garage stay reachable through the alleys during the closure. Access to the Rodeo Collection Garage on the 400 block was still being worked out with affected tenants when the report was written. Installation and lighting tests happen overnight so merchants aren't disrupted, and City staff will send notices to residents. Last year was only the second time in a decade that the event needed its rain plan, which cost $42,875. For 2026, any rain plan would be paid from a contingency fund outside the event budget.

December moves to the parks and the mansion

After November 19, most of the season's events are in civic venues that were never part of the décor cuts.

Community menorah lighting. Hanukkah begins Friday, December 4, 2026. The City's report recommends holding the lighting on Monday, December 7, the fourth night, at 5 p.m. beside the menorah display in Beverly Gardens Park, so it doesn't conflict with Shabbat. The Mayor leads the event, and it is free to the public.

Holidays at Greystone. Greystone Mansion, 905 Loma Vista Drive, hosts the event on December 5–6 and 12–13, two weekends this year. Last year it was a single Saturday. Platinum Tribune lists visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus, marionettes, caroling, craft-making, Library story time, holiday treats, photos with Nami and multicultural décor. The 2025 edition ran Saturday, December 6, from 9:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Hours, prices and parking for 2026 haven't been released yet. The City scheduled ticketing information for Monday, October 26.

The Wallis. The Wallis lists The String Queens with holiday music on December 11 and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra performing Bach's Christmas Oratorio on December 20.

The Lily Pond show and the menorah scene and tree in Beverly Gardens Park both return in the 2026 plan. Between Canon Drive and Greystone, most of December takes place in spaces the City kept fully decorated.

Each season shapes how a Beverly Hills block looks, feels and moves, from the closures on Rodeo to which streets stay lit in December. If you have questions about how those patterns affect a home you own or are considering, Renée Avedon is glad to talk them through with you, discreetly and in the language you prefer. Let's Connect.