This year's holiday décor on Rodeo Drive was shaped by two things besides the theme: the condition of the street-light poles and the amount of construction on the block. A City of Beverly Hills staff report prepared for the September 1, 2026 Council meeting says the original plan called for garlands strung across Rodeo Drive. The garlands were dropped because hanging them from the existing poles "would pose a potential safety issue." The replacement is the one new element in this season's decorations. The rest of the city's holiday program is smaller and mostly reused, so what is new this season sits on Rodeo Drive, between Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire.
The lights go on Thursday, November 19, from 5 to 8 p.m., at the free Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration. The theme is "50 Years of Brilliance," for the anniversary of the Rodeo Drive Committee.
Sixteen strands instead of four garlands
The September 1 staff report explains the change plainly. With heavy construction on the street, the Rodeo Drive Committee and the City Council set a goal of an overhead feature that would read as one unified look down the block:
"...to prioritize an elegant, high decor feature across the street, to draw the public's eyes up, and provide a unique, unified look down the block."
The city's vendor, JBB, proposed building on something familiar. The slow-moving "dripping" lights have hung in the center median palms for several years. This year they also go on every sidewalk palm, with strands running from the sidewalk to the median. That makes 16 strands down the block, where the original proposal had four garlands. According to the report, the design costs the same as the Rodeo Drive décor budget Council had already approved. Public Works reviewed it and found no risk to the trees and no safety issue for pedestrians or vehicles.
The street also has 28 banners: 10 along the sidewalks and 18 in the median, hung as 9 pairs. Council looked at three colorways for the anniversary set: black and gold, red and silver, and blue and silver. The report says the black and gold option is closest to the Committee's 50th-anniversary colors. The red and blue options each match one of the oversized gems on Rodeo Drive.
The construction the report refers to
The construction behind that design choice is not a short-term disruption. Rodeo Drive is in the middle of its largest rebuild in years, and the projects will outlast several holiday seasons.
The city's visitors bureau lists the Louis Vuitton flagship at 468 N. Rodeo Drive as a two-building project designed by Frank Gehry that runs through to Beverly Drive, with an opening planned for 2029. The same page gives June 2028 as the expected completion of a new Tiffany & Co. flagship. In April, the Beverly Press described the LVMH flagship as having museum, exhibition and rooftop dining spaces. In February, the Robb Report reported that Hermès bought two adjoining properties at 388 N. Rodeo Drive, then home to Tom Ford, Moncler and Balenciaga. The article said the brand's plans for the 25,000-square-foot property were unknown and that the existing tenants had several years left on their leases.
Some of the street has already been refreshed. WWD reported that CELINE opened a relocated 5,500-square-foot flagship at 309 N. Rodeo Drive in mid-August. In late October, WWD also reported that David Yurman had reopened its renovated flagship at 371 N. Rodeo Drive. So the anniversary is landing on a street with new storefronts on some blocks and long-term work zones on others.
An anniversary long enough to cover two holiday seasons
The timing of the anniversary also explains why so much of this year's design effort went to Rodeo Drive. According to the Rodeo Drive Committee's own history, the group started forming in 1976 and was founded in 1977, with Fred Hayman, the president of Giorgio, as its driving force. Donald Tronstein, a property owner and developer on the 400 block, was part of the founding circle and later served as Committee president from 1984 to 1987. The same page names 2027 as the 50th anniversary. The city and the event materials call 2026 the 50th. The Beverly Press reported that the Committee's anniversary programming runs through the end of 2027.
The Committee set out to promote Rodeo Drive as America's answer to Via Condotti in Rome, New Bond Street in London and the Faubourg St-Honoré in Paris. According to its history, by 1980 the city estimated that the Rodeo Drive shopping district produced as much as 25 percent of Beverly Hills' sales tax revenue. That history helps explain why the city funds the lighting celebration as a joint event with the Committee rather than leaving it to the merchants alone.
This year's anniversary calendar has already included several events. The Concours d'Elegance on June 21 had a theme marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. Rodeo Drive Celebrates Fashion ran August 3 to 7, with CELINE-backed street banners. On August 12, the Beverly Hills Courier reported, the Committee held a reception at the Beverly Wilshire honoring Fred Hayman, where his son Robert accepted the honor. The fall program for timepieces and fine jewelry included Harry Winston banners marking 40 years on Rodeo Drive, according to the Beverly Press. The November lighting closes out the 2026 part of that run.
Where the rest of the holiday budget went
Away from Rodeo Drive, the season is leaner. At an April 21, 2026 study session, Council reviewed a zero-based budget that included cuts to citywide lighting and décor. Most of what returns is a repeat or a scaled-back version of past years:
| Citywide element | 2026 status, per the September 1 staff report |
|---|---|
| Business district lights | Warm white throughout |
| Beverly Canon Gardens | Same décor as the last two years |
| Lights on the Lily Pond, Beverly Gardens Park | Reuses previous programming; fewer reeds if necessary |
| Street spans on N. Beverly and N. Canon | Remain white |
| Citywide holiday banners | Third year of the same design |
| City Hall | Static projection on the Crescent side |
| Also returning | Santa and Reindeer Display, Wilshire spans, Robertson Blvd pole lights and garland, S. Beverly canopy spheres, snowflakes on S. Santa Monica Blvd west of Wilshire, Triangle bows and garland, Beverly Gardens Park Menorah scene and tree |
The lighting celebration itself is a larger line item. The September 22 Council agenda report lists a city contribution of $667,575 for the event and $45,000 in expected sponsorship, with the sponsorship supporting the fireworks finale. The staff report also notes about $70,000 in waivers for the event and says all installation and lighting tests take place overnight so Rodeo Drive merchants are not disrupted.
How November 19 unfolds on the street
According to the staff report, past lighting nights have drawn up to 10,000 people between 5 and 8 p.m. The closure lasts longer than the event:
- Wednesday, November 18, 9 p.m. Rodeo Drive closes from S. Santa Monica Boulevard to Wilshire. Dayton Way and Brighton Way close from Rodeo Drive to the alleys on either side.
- Throughout the closure. Access to the city's Brighton Garage and Two Rodeo Garage stays open through the alleys. Access to the Rodeo Collection Garage on the 400 block was left to be worked out with affected tenants.
- Thursday, November 19, 5 p.m. The program starts on a stage at Brighton Way and Rodeo Drive.
- Friday, November 20, 6 a.m. The street reopens.
The evening is hosted by vocalist and entertainment reporter Ali Ward. The lineup includes vocalist Dani Armstrong, six-time GRAMMY winner Daniel Ho with his Island Holidays set, and DJ Lady Sha. The city's announcement also names the two winners of the first Rodeo Drive Has Talent search, chosen from an open call: Los Angeles singer-songwriter Ortal Edri and eight-year-old vocalist Marianna Kriuchenkova. Food trucks and wine gardens will be set up along the street. The night ends with a countdown led by the Mayor, City Councilmembers and the Committee's executive board, followed by fireworks.
In the same announcement, Committee President Kathy Gohari said the celebration aims "to honor Rodeo Drive's legacy while welcoming a new generation to discover the magic of this very special street."
The rest of the season, by date
After the lighting night, most of the calendar moves elsewhere in the city. The city's announcement lists these dates, and the décor stays up across the city through January 3, 2027:
- Sunday, November 22, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Holiday Craft Fair at the Beverly Hills Farmers' Market.
- Nightly, 5 to 11 p.m. Glowing Gardens at Beverly Canon Gardens, with a large Christmas tree and an oversized ornament.
- Nightly, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Lights on the Lily Pond at Beverly Gardens Park.
- December 5, 6, 12 and 13, 9:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Holidays at Greystone, with Santa and Mrs. Claus, marionettes and live caroling.
- Monday, December 7, 5:30 p.m. Menorah Lighting Celebration with the City Council at Beverly Gardens Park.
- Sunday, December 13, 10 a.m. to noon. Santa Paws Yappy Hour at the Beverly Hills Community Dog Park.
The garages on Brighton Way and at Two Rodeo can still be reached through the alleys during the November 18 to 20 closure. On the lighting night, the stage is at Brighton Way and Rodeo Drive.
The Joel + Dorit Cooper team has followed Beverly Hills since 2003, including how projects like the Rodeo Drive flagships change the blocks around them over several years. If you'd like to talk about how this construction might affect a property you own or are considering nearby, we're glad to set up a consultation.
