Christmas lights are a big part of the festive season in London, drawing huge crowds for the official switch-on. Here at the VSC, we are in a fantastic central location, surrounded by beautifully decorated shops, bars, restaurants and streets. The brand-new Oxford Street lights are already on, featuring LED screens. More traditional lights can be seen all over the city, including Regent Street, Covent Garden, Seven Dials, Marylebone and Carnaby Street, amongst others. The famous Norwegian Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square is lit on the first Thursday in December.
For the last three years, the Events team at the VSC have worked with Victoria Owen of the event design company GDC. It’s amazing how quickly the most sensible of adults become children again faced with baubles, twinkly lights and Christmas trees, and the team at VSC are no exception. “We’re welcomed every year by staff and guests alike,” explains Victoria, “We love planning out the Christmas décor for the VSC each year.”
The Events team pride themselves on the warm welcome that guests receive when they walk into the venue. At Christmas time, Victoria and her team bear this in mind when working on the decorations and creating festive focal points throughout the entire building.
This year, the VSC is resplendent with an icy colour palette of silver and blue, tempered with rich gold tones, using baubles, preserved metallic foliage and warm fairy lights. “We’ve brought a touch of winter wonderland into the space,” says Victoria, “whilst retaining warmth and high-end luxury within our installations. It’s important that the space looks beautiful, luxurious and welcoming for all the guests.”
The VSC building in Seymour Street is steeped in history and tradition. Our recent refurbishment of the entrance and foyer of the Carisbrooke Hall, opening the space up to make it lighter and more airy means that this year, we thought especially hard about how to decorate it. Victoria and her decorating team have produced understated yet impressive festive installations in this area, working with the ideal colour palette for the space.
At this time of year, the VSC is full of festive joy and a warm Christmas spirit. The beautiful decorations enhance our welcoming Central London space. We can’t wait to welcome all our guests into our winter wonderland.