To venture onto the shopping streets of London at Christmas, you need two things: cash and courage. Cash speaks for itself. But you also need to be brave if you are to survive being crammed sardine-like into the shops of Oxford Street and Kensington.

Britain's capital at Christmas does, nonetheless, have its attractions. The famed Yuletide decorations are free to view and at their best when the shopping frenzy ebbs and the chances of being crushed are minimised.

The history of the most notable of London's festive street illuminations - in Regent Street and Oxford Street - goes back nearly fifty years and is colourful in itself.

Advert at Advent: Regent Street Christmas 1997

Regent Street, criticised for the size and commercialism of the sponsor Yves Saint Laurent's logo, was forced by Westminster City Council to replace the offending garland with a regulation size version. Oxford Street on the other hand, has simply been berated for the paucity of its offering.

Lack of imagination and too heavy a reliance upon the ghosts of baubles past have been the most widely voiced complaints in recent years. So much so that the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Museum of London felt there was inspiration to be found in this festive desert. Ten of Britain's most skilled architects were commissioned to produce an exhibition of their individual flights of fancy for Oxford Street's Yuletide future.

The ideas on display at the museum range from the elegant to the bizarre; a simulation Norwegian Wood to a space-age Christmas mirror ball. But all have fuelled the creativity of the public in the associated competition Turned On: Campaign for Better Christmas Lights.

But why get in such a lather about what is, effectively, an arrangement of coloured bulbs? Well, it is tradition and with the years tradition becomes heritage. To put on a poor show is therefore to let the side down. As one lady shopper looking heavenwards in Regent Street put it: "It's almost unpatriotic to have a dismal display down here at Christmas. A lot of people come, some even from abroad, to Regent Street and Oxford Street specially to see a good display to really get them in the mood for Christmas. It's become just as much a part of British life as the Royal Family."

With a reputation for elegance and a declared conservation area, Regent Street has traditionally chosen lights on a theme, such as A Heaven Full of Stars or Imagination Chandeliers.

Star spangle in Oxford Street this Christmas

Oxford Street, as London's most popular shopping street, has more of an eclectic approach, in keeping with the vagaries of public taste.

Annie Walker, Executive Officer of the Regent Street Association is however aware of the need to spruce things up: "In order to maintain a reasonable display, we need funding. The present display was bought three years ago and although it looks very nice, it's time to move on."

Such is the scene on London's shopping streets this Christmas. But, if the winners of the Turned On competition get to put their futuristic designs into practice it could all look very different before long.
 

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