Before the November 19 lighting, overnight crews will hang light strands from the sidewalk palms on Rodeo Drive to the palms in the center median. When they finish, 16 of them will run down the block, each moving slowly in the same "dripping" pattern the median palms have carried for several years. The city scheduled all installation and light testing for overnight hours so Rodeo's merchants are not disrupted.
A few blocks east and west, the season is coming in smaller. Camden Drive and La Cienega lose their colored holiday lights. The Jolly Trolley will not run. The twinkle lights in the trees will be replaced every other year now, no longer every year.
Both changes appear in the same city document, a September 1, 2026 staff report to the City Council. They point in different directions because two different budgets pay for them.
Where Each Street's Lights Get Their Money
The citywide décor, meaning the lights on Beverly Drive, Canon, Robertson, Wilshire and the trees throughout the business district, comes out of a city capital improvement budget under an agreement with Utopia Worldwide, Inc. At its April 21, 2026 study session, the Council reviewed that spending as part of a zero-based budget process. The review aimed to cut annual décor costs by half. The 2026 program came in 37% lower, mostly by dropping or reducing items rather than buying new equipment.
Rodeo Drive's décor and its lighting night come from a different source. Beverly Hills collects a 14% transient occupancy tax on hotel room revenue, and for roughly the past 28 years one-seventh of that money has funded the city's Tourism and Marketing budget. That budget pays for the Rodeo Drive holiday program, along with the Concours car show, landscaping in the business triangle and the city's trademark branding.
For 2026, Rodeo's approved décor costs $566,959.20. The lighting celebration adds $712,575, which brings the Rodeo holiday total to $1,279,534.20. Hotel-tax money covers most of that total, with $45,000 coming from sponsors, and the city absorbs fee waivers and marketing costs on top of it. Rodeo's décor budget stayed at the amount the Council had already approved, while the citywide program was cut.
What the Leaner Citywide Program Keeps and Drops
Here is how the 2026 citywide décor sorts out, street by street, according to the staff report.
| Location | 2026 holiday treatment |
|---|---|
| Business district | Warm white lights throughout |
| Beverly Gardens Park | Menorah scene and tree |
| Lily Pond | Light show returns, reusing earlier programming, with fewer reeds if needed |
| Beverly Canon Gardens | Same décor as the past two years |
| Robertson Boulevard | Street pole lights and lighted garland with bows |
| N. Beverly Drive and N. Canon Drive | Street spans, kept white |
| S. Beverly Drive | Canopy spheres |
| S. Santa Monica Boulevard, west of Wilshire | Snowflakes |
| Wilshire Boulevard | Overhead spans |
| City Hall | Static projection on the Crescent Drive side |
| Business triangle | Bows, garland and background audio |
| La Cienega Boulevard | Colored lights and canopy spheres discontinued; year-round white twinkle lights stay |
| Camden Drive | Colored lights and canopy décor discontinued; year-round white twinkle lights stay |
The Santa and reindeer display is staying, and so are the citywide banners in the business areas. The banners are in their third year with the same design. The up-lighting on those banners is being discontinued. Staff will also study whether some areas could light every other tree instead of every tree. That is a cost measure under evaluation and has not been decided.
The Jolly Trolley is the cut people will notice most on foot. For the 2024 season, Canyon News reported in December 2024 that the free trolley ran between Rodeo and Dayton and North Santa Monica Boulevard at Canon, near Beverly Gardens Park. It operated Thursday through Sunday from 6 to 9 p.m. and ran into early January. That route connected Rodeo's lights to the menorah and tree at the park. This season, getting from one to the other is a walk.
The trolley still makes an appearance in one form. The Rodeo lighting night includes a static photo spot with Santa in front of a Beverly Hills trolley.
Why Rodeo Has Strands Instead of Garlands
The original Rodeo plan called for four garlands strung across the street. The city decided against them because of concerns about the structural integrity of Rodeo's street light poles. The staff report states the goal that replaced them:
"Due to a high amount of construction on the street, the RDC and City Council agreed on a goal 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 vendor, J. Ben Bourgeois Productions, which has produced Rodeo's holiday décor since 2019, proposed the 16-strand design within the décor budget the Council had already approved. The city's Public Works department reviewed it and found no risk to the trees and no safety issue for pedestrians or vehicles.
The 2026 theme, "50 Years of Brilliance," marks the Rodeo Drive Committee's 50th anniversary. According to Beverly Press, the milestone goes back fifty years, to when Fred Hayman and fellow retailers and hoteliers set out to build Rodeo into an international luxury destination. The celebration continues into 2027. The holiday lighting follows the anniversary's August fashion week, an August 12 reception honoring Hayman, and the October timepieces and jewelry week.
November 19, and the First Sponsors in the Event's History
The Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration runs Thursday, November 19, from 5 to 8 p.m. It is free and open to the public. In past years it has drawn up to 10,000 people. The stage sits at Brighton Way and Rodeo Drive. Ali Ward hosts. The lineup includes vocalist Dani Armstrong, six-time GRAMMY winner Daniel Ho's Island Holidays and DJ Lady Sha.
Two performers come from inside the community. Ortal Edri, a Los Angeles singer-songwriter, and Marianna Kriuchenkova, an eight-year-old vocalist, won the first "Rodeo Drive Has Talent" search. The city ran it as an open call in place of booking a headliner. Mayor Craig Corman and the Rodeo Drive Committee Executive Board will lead the countdown. In the city's tourism listing on Love Beverly Hills, Corman calls the event "a cherished tradition for our community and visitors from around the world."
The fireworks finale shows how the year's budget pressure played out. The city's $667,575 covered the stage, the entertainment, one wine garden, food trucks and the local-business stands. It did not cover fireworks or a second wine garden. The Rodeo Drive Committee lined up local sponsors Gearys, Auto Vault and Two Rodeo Drive for an estimated $45,000. That money pays for the finale. The staff report notes the event has not traditionally used a sponsorship model. The city is also absorbing about $70,000 in permit and personnel waivers, plus the marketing costs.
Weather is a known cost. In 2025 the event needed a rain plan for only the second time in a decade, which cost $42,875. Any 2026 rain plan would come from a Tourism and Marketing contingency, outside the approved budget.
Getting Around the Block That Week
The closures the Council reviewed follow the pattern of prior years. These are from the September staff proposal; City staff will send resident notifications closer to the date.
- Wednesday, November 18, 9 p.m. Rodeo Drive closes from South Santa Monica Boulevard to Wilshire. Dayton Way and Brighton Way close from Rodeo to the alleys on either side.
- Thursday, November 19, 5 to 8 p.m. The celebration runs. The City's Brighton Garage and Two Rodeo Garage stay reachable through the alleys.
- Friday, November 20, 6 a.m. The streets reopen after teardown.
Access to the Rodeo Collection Garage on the 400 block was still being worked out with affected tenants at the time of the proposal. If your errands or appointments depend on that garage, check the city's news page for the final notice.
The Rest of the Season, Away From Rodeo
The trimmed citywide program still sets the calendar for the next six weeks, and several dates fall near the décor that survived.
- Saturday, November 7, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Greystone's self-guided Inside the Mansion tour at 905 Loma Vista Drive, with timed entry on the hour.
- Sunday, November 8, 8 a.m. to noon. Free shredding, e-waste, compost and pumpkin recycling at the Farmers' Market, 9300 block of Civic Center Drive.
- November 8 and 22, 10:30 a.m. Beverly Hills Artwalk guided tours, $10, meeting at the Lily Pond in Beverly Gardens Park, 9439 Santa Monica Boulevard. That is the same pond where this year's light show reuses earlier programming.
- November 12 through 22. At The Wallis: Las Migas on November 12, Preacher Lawson on the 13th, LA Opera's Jamie Barton on the 15th, the Naghash Ensemble on the 18th, Manual Cinema's Leonardo! on the 21st, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra on the 22nd. Radio Galaxy runs through November 22.
- Sunday, November 22. The Farmers' Market holiday craft fair, with artisan vendors and adult and youth gingerbread-house contests.
- Monday, December 7, 5 p.m. The community menorah lighting beside the Beverly Gardens Park display. Hanukkah begins Friday, December 4, and the city moved the lighting to the fourth night so it would not conflict with the Sabbath.
The Farmers' Market runs every Sunday in November, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., including the craft fair weekend.
If you want a read on how your block or building is positioned heading into the new year, Antonio Bruno offers a private consultation or a confidential home valuation, so you can plan the new year with real numbers in hand.
