The original plan for Rodeo Drive this year called for four garlands strung across the street, pole to pole. They were never hung. City staff concluded that the street light poles on Rodeo were not structurally sound enough to carry them, so the garlands came out of the design.
The replacement is bigger. The city's vendor, J. Ben Bourgeois Productions, proposed extending the slow-moving "dripping" lights that have hung in the median palms for several years. Every sidewalk palm gets them too, and more strands run from the sidewalk to the median. That makes 16 strands down the block instead of four garlands, at the same budget the City Council had already approved for Rodeo Drive décor.
The same thinking runs through Beverly Hills' whole 2026 holiday season. Wherever possible, the city is getting more out of what it already owns, and Rodeo Drive's bigger look rests on that frugality.
Three blocks of Rodeo, built from parts already on the street
The theme this year is "50 Years of Brilliance," marking the Rodeo Drive Committee's 50th anniversary. According to the city's September 1 staff report, much of the street had been under construction, so the committee and the City Council agreed to put the money into an elegant overhead feature. The goal was to draw people's eyes up and give the block one unified look. City Public Works reviewed the expanded dripping lights and found no risk to the trees and no safety problem for pedestrians or traffic.
The banners follow the same logic. Rodeo has only 28 holiday banners, 10 on the sidewalk and 18 in the median, and the colorways under review were picked to match the street's oversized gems or the committee's anniversary colors. The citywide holiday banners hung in other business districts are in their third year with the same design.
Why the rest of the city looks quieter
The reason for all this reuse is a budget decision made in spring. At an April 21, 2026, study session, the City Council reviewed a zero-based budget that included cuts to citywide lighting and décor. The aim was to reduce annual décor costs by 50%. Staff got the 2026 cost down by 37%, partly by dropping some items and partly by scaling others back instead of buying new parts and equipment.
Here is what the citywide plan sent to Council in September keeps and what it ends:
| Staying for 2026 | Ending or scaled back |
|---|---|
| Warm white lights through the business district | Banner uplighting |
| Santa and Reindeer display, Wilshire spans | The Jolly Trolley |
| Beverly Canon Gardens, same décor as the last two years | Colored lights and canopy spheres on La Cienega |
| Menorah scene and tree at Beverly Gardens Park | Colored lights and canopy décor on Camden Drive |
| Lights on the Lily Pond, reusing previous programming | Twinkle lights replaced every other year instead of annually |
| Robertson Boulevard pole lights and lighted garland with bows | |
| White spans on North Beverly and North Canon | |
| Canopy spheres on South Beverly, snowflakes on South Santa Monica west of Wilshire | |
| Triangle bows, garland and background audio, plus a static projection on the Crescent side of City Hall |
La Cienega and Camden still keep their year-round white twinkle lights. Staff will also look at whether some areas can save money by lighting every other tree instead of every tree. Anyone who walks Camden in December will see the change first, as the colored canopy gives way to white light alone.
The Jolly Trolley shows up in one more place. The plan for lighting night includes a static photo spot with Santa, and the Beverly Hills trolley is the backdrop.
The lighting night, paid for in a new way
The Rodeo Drive celebration and the citywide décor are funded separately. Rodeo's décor and its one-night celebration are paid from the city's Tourism and Marketing budget, which comes from the Transient Occupancy Tax, known as TOT. The citywide décor comes from a capital budget under an agreement with Utopia Worldwide. The city's contribution to the event is $667,575. The Liaison Committee of Mayor Craig Corman and Vice Mayor Wells said it would rather spend on décor that lasts than on the one-night event.
That budget covered the stage, security and entertainment. It did not cover the fireworks or a second wine garden. So for the first time, the event took sponsors. Gearys, Auto Vault and Two Rodeo Drive committed an estimated $45,000, which pays for the fireworks finale and brings the event's total to $712,575. The finale is now part of the public program.
The talent lineup changed in a similar way. In 2025, under the Nutcracker theme "Enchanted Holiday Dreams," the city billed Chris Mann, Hugh Sheridan, James Tormé and Bei Bei. For 2026, the committee chose to have no headliner and instead held an open call called "Rodeo Drive Has Talent." Canyon News reported the winners: Ortal Edri, a Los Angeles singer, songwriter and recording artist, and Marianna Kriuchenkova, an eight-year-old vocalist whose heroes are Whitney Houston and Jennifer Hudson.
They join host Ali Ward, featured vocalist Dani Armstrong, six-time GRAMMY winner Daniel Ho with his Island Holidays set, and DJ Lady Sha, according to the official event listing on Love Beverly Hills. Rodeo Drive Committee President Kathy Gohari said on that page that the committee is "proud to honor Rodeo Drive's legacy while welcoming a new generation to discover the magic of this very special street."
The plan also includes holiday skaters, stilt walkers, an oversized tricycle, Santa with his "red carpet security," one wine garden, and food trucks and stands from local businesses. Past years have drawn up to 10,000 people between 5 and 8 p.m.
The weather is the one cost the budget doesn't cover. Last year's event needed a rain plan for only the second time in a decade, and it cost $42,875. If it rains this year, the money would come from a Tourism and Marketing contingency fund.
Getting around on November 18 to 20
The planned closures for setup, the event and teardown run from 9 p.m. Wednesday, November 18, until 6 a.m. Friday, November 20:
- Rodeo Drive from South Santa Monica Boulevard to Wilshire Boulevard
- Dayton Way from Rodeo Drive to the alleys on either side
- Brighton Way from Rodeo Drive to the alleys on either side
- The city's Brighton Garage and the Two Rodeo Garage stay reachable through the alleys
- Rodeo Collection Garage on the 400 block, where access will be worked out with affected tenants
The stage will stand at Brighton Way and Rodeo Drive. All installation and light testing happens overnight to avoid disrupting Rodeo merchants. The city's public parking structures offer two hours of free parking.
The season after the fireworks
The installations the city kept start the same night as the Rodeo lighting and stay up until January 3, 2027. Canyon News lists Lights on the Lily Pond at Beverly Gardens Park, beside the Beverly Hills sign, running nightly from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Glowing Gardens at Beverly Canon Gardens, with its larger-than-life tree and oversized ornament, is lit from 5 to 11 p.m. Both repeat earlier designs, which is exactly why they survived the 37% cut.
The calendar from there:
- Thursday, November 19, 5 to 8 p.m. The Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration, free and open to the public, followed by the first nights of the Lily Pond and Glowing Gardens.
- Sunday, November 22, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Beverly Hills Farmers' Market holds its Holidays & Hanukkah Craft Fair with artisan vendors and a gingerbread-house contest in adult and youth categories, on the 9300 block of Civic Center Drive.
- Monday, December 7. The city's free community Menorah Lighting, led by the Mayor beside the menorah display at Beverly Gardens Park. Hanukkah begins Friday, December 4, so the city moved the lighting to the fourth night to avoid Shabbat. The city's holiday itinerary has the start time.
- Sunday, December 20, 4 p.m. The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra performs Bach: The Christmas Oratorio at The Wallis in the Bram Goldsmith Theater.
- Sunday, January 3, 2027. The last night of the citywide décor.
The 16 strands on Rodeo will be the brightest thing in the city this December. They are also the old dripping lights from the median palms, spread across more trees.
Which blocks keep their color, which go white and which may someday be lit every other tree are the kinds of street-level details Kathy Marshall tracks all year, not only in December. If this season has you thinking about which corner of Beverly Hills suits you best, Kathy would be glad to talk it through. Request a Private Valuation & Consultation.
