Beverly Hills Is Putting Its Holiday Sparkle on One Block This Year

Beverly Hills reviewed its holiday décor line by line this year and lowered the 2026 citywide cost by 37%. The Jolly Trolly rides are gone, along with banner up-lighting and the colored lights on La Cienega and Camden. Rodeo Drive is the exception. It is getting 16 strands of slow-moving "dripping" lights hung across the block, up from the four garlands first proposed for the street.

So this season the city is concentrating its holiday spending on one street. Most of the plan is already decided, and a lot of it explains how the town will look and feel from now through January 3.

The Cut Came From a Zero-Based Budget

The changes trace back to an April 21, 2026 City Council study session. That session reviewed holiday lighting and décor under a zero-based budget, starting from nothing and justifying every item. The review sent the décor to the Rodeo Drive Committee's ad hoc group with a goal of halving annual costs. The group got to a 37% reduction for 2026 by dropping some items and scaling others back rather than buying new parts. Council reviewed the full holiday program and the committee's recommendations at a September 1 study session. A September 22 agenda report then recommended the event's purchase order.

The September 1 staff report lists what is gone for 2026:

• The Jolly Trolly. Holiday trolley rides are discontinued.
• Banner up-lighting. The citywide banners stay, but they will not be lit from below.
• La Cienega's colored lights and canopy spheres. The street keeps its year-round white twinkle lights.
• Camden Drive's colored lights and canopy décor. Camden also falls back to its year-round white twinkle lights.
• Annual twinkle light replacement. Citywide twinkle lights move to replacement every other year, and staff is looking at lighting every other tree in some areas.

The core of the program stays. That includes warm white lights throughout the business district, the Santa and Reindeer display, the Wilshire spans and snowflakes on South Santa Monica Boulevard west of Wilshire. Robertson Boulevard keeps its lighted garland with bows, and South Beverly keeps its canopy spheres. The street spans on North Beverly and North Canon stay white. The Triangle gets its bows, garland and background audio, and a static projection lights the Crescent side of City Hall. Beverly Canon Gardens uses the same décor as the past two years. The Lights on the Lily Pond show reuses earlier programming, with fewer reeds if necessary.

The trolley still makes an appearance. On lighting night it sits on Rodeo Drive as a static photo backdrop with Santa.

Why Rodeo Drive Got More While Everything Else Got Less

The first plan for Rodeo was garlands strung across the street. That changed because of the structural integrity of the street light poles, and because the block has a lot of construction going on. The Rodeo Drive Committee and Council agreed to prioritize "an elegant, high decor feature across the street, to draw the public's eyes up."

Production vendor JBB expanded the dripping lights already in the median palms. Every sidewalk palm gets them too, and 16 strands run from the sidewalks to the median. According to the staff report, the new design costs the same as the Rodeo décor budget Council had already approved. Public Works evaluated it and found no risk to tree health and no safety issue for pedestrians or vehicles.

What sits at street level explains the push to draw eyes upward. In the September 1 study session, a councilmember pointed to the construction cranes at Cartier and to the former Carroll & Co. and museum buildings possibly coming down, though no timeframe was given. Up the block, the Beverly Hills Courier reported in April that the Architectural and Design Review Commission approved a construction barricade for Tiffany & Co.'s new store at 360 N. Rodeo Drive. The store will replace Tiffany's location on the Two Rodeo Drive plaza, and completion is scheduled for June 2028. Those barricades will be up through at least one more holiday season after this one, so the overhead lights are carrying the look of the block this year.

Lighting Night: Thursday, November 19

The Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration runs Thursday, November 19, from 5 to 8 p.m. on Rodeo Drive. The theme is "50 Years of Brilliance," marking the Rodeo Drive Committee's 50th anniversary. The main stage is at Brighton Way and Rodeo Drive. The event has drawn up to 10,000 people in past years.

The anniversary carries into the street décor as well. Rodeo Drive has its own set of 28 holiday banners, 10 on the sidewalks and 18 in the median, separate from the citywide holiday banners, which are in their third year with the same design. The options put to the city for Rodeo's banners included a black and gold colorway, the closest match to the committee's 50th anniversary colors. In the city's announcement, committee president Kathy Gohari tied the milestone to the street's founder:

"Fifty years ago, Fred Hayman understood that Rodeo Drive could be much more than a shopping destination — it could be an experience that captures the imagination of the world."

The staff report recommended no headliner this year, favoring a local talent search and professional performers instead. The city announced this lineup:

1. Ali Ward, vocalist and entertainment reporter, hosts.
2. Dani Armstrong is the featured vocalist.
3. Daniel Ho, a six-time Grammy winner, presents "Island Holidays."
4. DJ Lady Sha plays.
5. Ortal Edri, a Los Angeles singer-songwriter, and Marianna Kriuchenkova, an eight-year-old vocalist, perform as winners of the first "Rodeo Drive Has Talent" search.

The fireworks finale reflects the leaner budget. The city's $667,575 contribution covers the stage, security, entertainment, one wine garden and the food trucks. A second wine garden and fireworks did not fit. For the first time, the committee brought in local sponsors, including Gearys, Auto Vault and Two Rodeo Drive, for an estimated $45,000. That sponsorship covers the city-funded elements plus a fireworks finale, bringing the event total to $712,575. The city's announcement says the night will end with the Mayor, Councilmembers and the committee's executive board pressing the button for that fireworks finale.

The committee also told the city it wanted the longer-lasting décor to take priority over the one-night event. Approved décor spending is $566,959.20, which puts the combined holiday budget at $1,279,534.20.

Street closures

Closures start the night before and run until the morning after:

The city's Brighton Garage and Two Rodeo Garage stay open through the alleys. Access to the Rodeo Collection Garage on the 400 block was left for discussion with affected tenants. If you're coming from the south, Metro's October update describes sidewalk and ADA-ramp restoration on Wilshire Boulevard between El Camino Drive and Rodeo Drive, with temporary closures and intermittent curb-lane closures.

The Rest of the Season, Through January 3

Holiday décor stays up across the city through January 3, 2027. Here are the dates from the city's holiday announcement:

Glowing Gardens has a larger-than-life Christmas tree and an oversized ornament. Holidays at Greystone has Santa and Mrs. Claus, marionettes and live caroling. Hanukkah begins Friday, December 4, so the city moved the Menorah Lighting to the following Monday, the fourth night, to avoid conflicting with Sabbath observance.

The White-Light Streets Have New Tenants

North Canon and North Beverly keep their white street spans this year, and both have new tenants under them. The Los Angeles Times reported in September that MOTHER opened a Beverly Hills flagship at 351 N. Canon Drive, with a café and a gathering space. The same roundup covered the new flagship from South Korean eyewear brand Blue Elephant at 300 N. Beverly Drive, with an L.A.-themed installation and an exclusive 10-frame collection. It also covered Ferragamo's transformed store at 357 N. Rodeo Drive.

South of Wilshire, under the South Beverly canopy spheres, Eater LA lists Borekas Sephardic Pastries as having opened in early October at 212 South Beverly Drive. It's the bakery's fourth location, with coffee, seating and retail goods. Up on Sunset, Eater's fall preview gave December as the projected opening for the 94-seat Supper Club inside The Beverly Hills Hotel at 9641 Sunset Boulevard. Chef Mattia Agazzi, designer Ken Fulk and music curator Alex Le Roux are behind it.

Metro's October community presentation describes active work at the Beverly Drive station entrance, elevator and tracks, plus tree planting and Wilshire median work in Beverly Hills. It forecasts D Line Section 2 service to Beverly Drive and Century City in spring 2027.

If you're planning holiday photos of your home or getting ready to list in the new year, The Dutchover Team knows how a lit street and a well-timed shoot can show a Beverly Hills property at its best. Get a Free Home Valuation and see where your home stands going into 2027.