The council's 2026 diary puts the town centre switch-on on Saturday 21 November and the Old Town's on 28 November. Line-up and times are still to come.

Stevenage has two switch-ons, a week apart, and both 2026 dates are already published.

  • Town centre: Saturday 21 November 2026, Town Centre and Event Island
  • Old Town: Saturday 28 November 2026, Old Town Bowling Green

Both come from the council’s own “2026 dates for your diary” table on page 6 of the Spring 2026 Chronicle, its residents’ magazine. (Chronicle, Spring 2026, Stevenage Borough Council)

What is not published yet is everything people actually search for in November: the start time, the finish time, who is performing and who presses the button. The council has run the town centre event as a whole afternoon in recent years rather than a five-minute ceremony, and it announces the line-up in the first half of November.

What the day has looked like

The 2025 town centre event ran 12 noon to 5.30pm on the Saturday, with members of So Solid Crew (Lisa Maffia, Romeo and Harvey) headlining, free face painting and balloon modelling, and food and craft stalls through the afternoon. Headline sponsor was Tollers Solicitors, with Redrow supporting. (Stevenage Borough Council, “Stevenage set to shine”, 12 November 2025)

The Old Town’s is deliberately smaller and shorter: 5pm to 6pm at the Old Town Bowling Green, with mulled wine and mince pies, in the council’s 2025 description of it. (Stevenage Borough Council, 4 November 2025)

If the pattern holds, expect a midday-to-teatime programme in the town centre on 21 November and an early-evening hour in the Old Town on 28 November. Neither is confirmed for 2026.

What went wrong in 2025, and what the council said it would change

If you follow the event, you will remember the 2025 switch-on for the wrong reason, and it is worth knowing where that ended up because it affects how 2026 is run.

Gemma and Logan of The Abilities in Me Foundation were invited to be the 2025 event’s special guests to switch the lights on. On 23 November the council’s cabinet member for equalities and young people, Cllr Coleen De Freitas, apologised “for not taking time to ensure Gemma and her son were visible and able to carry out their role”, and said an investigation was under way.

Three further council statements followed on the same page:

  • 26 November: the council said the “Dear Santa” competition winner who pressed the button “was not related or known to the Mayor or Mayor Consort”, and said it was concerned about the effect of media speculation on the child involved
  • 23 December: the Leader, Cllr Richard Henry, apologised to Logan and his family and to the Mayor and other guests, and said the investigation’s recommendations “include strengthening event planning, improving policies, training and practice to ensure all events are inclusive”
  • Those recommendations were, on that date, “being discussed with those involved ahead of being made available”

(Stevenage Borough Council, “Christmas Lights Switch-on: Statement”, posted 23 November 2025 and updated)

We could not find a published version of those recommendations on the council’s website on 5 September 2026. They were promised, not published. That is worth asking about before the 21 November event, and we will add them here if they appear.

Practical points, from the years we can verify

  • Free entry, no ticket in every recent year, in both the town centre and the Old Town
  • The town centre event fills Town Square and Event Island, so the stage, stalls and crowd sit across the pedestrian centre rather than on a closed road
  • The Old Town event is at the Bowling Green, off the High Street
  • The council’s usual advice for town centre events is to use the town centre car parks: rates and locations are on our parking in Stevenage page

One caution for the Old Town on 28 November. The Old Town High Street was closed for three days in September for the Charter Fair, and it is the borough’s usual site for road closures. Nothing has been published for the switch-on, but anything that does get ordered will show up on our Stevenage roadworks and travel page and on the Charter Fair closures page, which explains how the county publishes these.

The rest of the festive calendar

Event 2026 date Where
Annual Firework Display Thursday 5 November Fairlands Valley Park
Remembrance Sunday Service Sunday 8 November Old Town Bowling Green
Armistice Day Service Wednesday 11 November Town Square and Joyride
Stevenage Christmas Light Switch On Saturday 21 November Town Centre / Event Island
Old Town Christmas Light Switch On Saturday 28 November Old Town Bowling Green
Kid Zone Saturday 5 December Town Centre / Event Island

The fireworks are covered on our Stevenage fireworks and Bonfire Night page, and the markets, ice rink and Knebworth fair on our Stevenage Christmas market page.

Sources