Christmas lights in London? Never heard of them! But apparently we have the most popular set of them in the whole world, which is as jolly and festive as we all need it to be at this time of year.
I jest, of course; Secret London has been guilty of shouting about the Christmas lights—where are they! when do they turn on! they’re on now!—since, I don’t know, October? Well, London is officially doused in festive splendour, and the city has been given this impressive accolade.
Premier Inn have crunched the numbers to give each UK a city an index score based on data such as Google searches and Instagram hashtags. London came on top as the most popular city for Christmas Lights, not just in the UK, but the whole world.
London received an index score of 164,891, dwarfing the number two UK spot, Liverpool (18,487), to take the crown. The hotel chain took data from 300 different cities around the world to find that London came out on top, thanks to impressive displays from the likes of Kew Gardens, Oxford Street, and Mayfair, to name a few.
The UK missed out on the most popular lights in a country to the USA, with 10 cities featuring on the rankings. London and Liverpool took the top two spots over here, with Bournemouth, Manchester and Blackpool rounding off the top 5.
A spokesperson from Premier Inn said: “The Christmas season is a wonderful opportunity to visit different locations and enjoy the festive glow of a new city, whether with your family (especially if Santa is present!) or as a romantic trip filled with mulled wine and exploring the Christmas glitz with your mittens hand in hand.
“It’s usually a cost-effective way to tour a new city in a new light (literally!) and some cities even have light trail attractions and winter-themed activities, such as the Winter Wonderland in London’s Hyde Park, that extend into January. We encourage people to get out and take in the joyful atmosphere under the lights and iconic landmarks before the festive period is out”
The lights around the city are pretty incredible, to be fair; so grab a mulled wine and take them in while you can! Most will be gone by the first week of January. They’re the best in the world, but blink and you’ll miss ’em!
You can read the entire study by Premier Inn here.