Bristol’s festive celebrations are comin’ to town

Bristol will feel more festive than ever this year with the unveiling of new sparkly Christmas lights and a Love Bristol Gift Card campaign designed to invite shoppers to the city to support local business this winter. 

Bristol City Centre BID, Redcliffe & Temple BID and Broadmead BID have joined forces for 2022 to bring festive spirit to all corners of the city.

Corn Street will be transformed into Bristol’s answer to Carnaby Street with a love themed light installation adorning the historic street. With eight love lyrics to be spotted (and selfied under!), the city’s residents and visitors are sure to be feeling the love (Bristol) this Christmas. The city centre is now lit up after dark with Christmas light installations on King Street and the Old City, Park Street and Queens Road. Park Street is once again lit with stunning festoon lighting, which was launched in 2021, and this has been extended into Queens Road this year. The Love Bristol disco balls also return bringing sparkle to the streets outside the Clayton Hotel, Mother’s Ruin, Mr Wolf’s, Four Wise Monkeys and the Queen Shilling. You can expect to see the city twinkling once the lights turn on from 14 November.

Redcliffe & Temple BID’s sparkling tree lights are also bringing a taste of Christmas to Victoria Street and Temple Gardens while providing a pleasant and safer environment for everyone. In Broadmead, over-street Christmas lights have this year been joined by new canopies on Merchant Street North and South alongside sparkly tree lights on Union Street and The Horsefair, illuminated from 4 November. You can also find Broadmead’s highly successful Sunday market returning for a Christmassy edition, Festive Sundays Broadmead, operated by Better Events. On 20 November, and 4, 11, and 18 December, the local, ethical market will showcase the best of Christmas gifts, including wreaths, handmade crafts and decorations from Bristol and beyond.

Just in time for Christmas stocking fillers, the BIDs have also launched a new edition of the Love Bristol Gift Card: the Love Bristol Night Out Gift Card, shining a light on the businesses that make the Bristol night-time economy so diverse and exciting. With hotels, theatres, restaurants, clubs and bars throughout the city centre featured, the Night Out Gift Card is sure to make the perfect present for the city’s night owls this Christmas. 

Brought to life in a campaign by the BIDs, a series of digital and print creatives have launched, demonstrating how the Love Bristol Gift Card means the best of Bristol is in the palm of your hand this Christmas - all ready to be gifted to loved ones.

Vicky Lee, Head of Bristol City Centre BID, said: “Whether you’re looking to treat your loved ones to sneakers, paint supplies, vintage clothes or a night out at one of Bristol’s best restaurants, the Love Bristol Gift Card has it all and is sure to delight when recipients find it in their stockings on Christmas morning. Our city has so much to offer and we’re thrilled that the most wonderful time of the year is finally here to see it sparkle even more than it usually does, through the festive lights and love lyrics that have appeared throughout the city.” 

The lighting schemes across the city centre utilise LED lighting fixtures and components which are incredibly energy efficient and have a longer lifespan than other traditional lighting features.