Update: The Dublin Christmas lights were turned on on the 15th of November and now the Winter Lights Festival is up and running too.
Looks like this might be a weekly article at this stage lads. Just a week after the fake Halloween Parade gathered thousands of people on O’Connell Street, hundreds have gathered outside the Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre. Streamed live on TikTok by Lotfi, the comment section was rife with rumours as to what was the cause of the gathering.
What appears to be the most likely explanation is that there was a relatively small gathering which grew exponentially rather quickly. Unfortunately, as we saw last week, learning nothing, Swathes of comments began to talk about various potential events.
A dominant rumour was the Dublin Christmas lights turning on at 10pm, but as the time came and passed, there were no lights being turned on. A quick check of last year would tell you we’re nearly two weeks away from when they were turned on last year. Others believed it was a protest, some said a fund raised for Valencia while others believed there was a music group coming to busk.
To my knowledge, none of these are true and it’s just another example of a frightful herd mentality kicking in, two weeks in a row – because of social media.
I’m still looking into this across social media to see if someone can explain it, but if you’re still out – I’m afraid to my knowledge there’s nothing exciting going on tonight. Get in out of the cold.
When Will Dublin Christmas Lights Be Turned On?
Dublin Town, the business group responsible for the lights, typically don’t give much notice of the lights being switched on. This is to avoid large crowds gathering, much like we randomly saw last night (8/11/24). Last year, the lights were switched on on 16th November 2023, but it’s been difficult to predict over the years with the announcement usually coming the same day.
If you want to plan a magical trip to Dublin City for a Christmas trip, Dublin Winter Lights tickets are already on sale for just €2 per person which includes admission for two kids.
