Formby's Christmas lights switch on is Thursday 19 November 2026, the parish council confirms. Last time: rides from 3pm, stage from 4pm, lights on at 7pm.

Formby’s Christmas lights will be switched on on Thursday 19 November 2026. Formby Parish Council, which runs the event, approved the spending for “the Christmas lights switch on event to be held on Thursday 19 November 2026” at its meeting on 20 July (Formby Parish Council minutes, 20 July 2026).

The 2026 times and programme have not been published yet. The parish council has put out a poster with the times in the days before the event in previous years. This page will be updated when it does.

The quick answer

  • Is it on? Yes: Thursday 19 November 2026, in Formby village.
  • Times: not yet announced. The last published timetable, for 2024, had fairground rides from 3pm to 8pm, the stage from 4pm and the lights on at 7pm.
  • Who runs it: Formby Parish Council.

What happened in previous years

For the past three years the switch-on has been on a Thursday in the second half of November. The council’s own posts give the pattern:

Formby Christmas lights switch on, recent years, from Formby Parish Council's own posts and minutes
YearDateWhat the council published
2023Thursday 23 NovemberLights switched on by Father Christmas and children from Formby School of Dance
2024Thursday 21 NovemberRides 3pm to 8pm, Santa from 3.30pm, stage from 4pm, switch-on 7pm
2025Thursday 20 November"Our largest audience yet"; ten acts on stage
2026Thursday 19 NovemberDate approved in July; times to come

The 2024 poster is the most recent timetable the council has published: “3.00 pm to 8.00 pm Fairground Rides”, “4.00 pm Entertainment on the stage begins” and “The big switch on 7pm”, with Father Christmas promising to be there at 3.30pm (Formby Parish Council, 2024 poster). Nothing yet says 2026 will keep the same times.

Last year the council called it its biggest yet. “We had our largest audience yet with visitors coming to watch the village Christmas lights being switched on and enjoy the fairground rides and stalls from the local traders,” it said. Children from St Jerome’s Primary did the countdown with Bluey and the Grinch, and ten acts took the stage: St Luke’s, Woodlands, Freshfield and St Jerome’s primary schools, Make Noise 2 Junior Choir, Miss A’s Dance School, Rock Choir, Attitude Dance, Formby School of Dance and the Make Noise Adult Choir to finish, with David Heath compering (Formby Parish Council, November 2025).

The same July meeting also approved buying and dressing the village Christmas tree.

Road closures and parking

The parish council has not published road closures for 2026. The event is held in the village centre on Chapel Lane, and the local magazine Formby Bubble reports that in past years Chapel Lane has been closed to traffic for the evening, with the funfair running along Chapel Lane and Brows Lane towards Formby Pool (Formby Bubble, 23 September 2026). Treat that as a guide until the council or Sefton publishes this year’s arrangements.

Our parking in Southport page covers Sefton’s car parks and charges, and roadworks and travel will carry any closures once they are published.

Southport’s own lights

Southport’s Christmas launch is a separate event, run by Southport BID on Saturday 14 November; our Southport Christmas lights page has that one.

What it means for you

Put Thursday 19 November in the diary now. The date is fixed by a council decision, not a rumour.

If you are coming for the switch-on itself, plan around 7pm but check. That was the time in 2024; the 2026 time is not out.

If you run a school, choir or dance group that wants a slot on the stage, contact Formby Parish Council; every act on last year’s stage was a local school or group.

Sources