Nokia sponsors Regent Street Christmas lights

To celebrate the imminent arrival of the Nokia Flagship Store at 240 Regent Street, Nokia is sponsoring this year’s Regent Street Christmas lights. The unique illuminations, titled UNITY, have been designed to connect shoppers at the start of this year’s festive season. Built to respond to the movement of people in the street, for the first time people in the street will work together to turn on the world-renowned Regent Street Christmas lights.

The Crown Estate is investing £500 million in Regent Street to create an exciting and contemporary shopping environment. This year’s lights, sponsored by Nokia, will echo the modernity and variety of Regent Street, whilst also enhancing its hallmarks: quality, heritage, style and success. Everyone will have a part to play in this year’s Christmas lights event. Shoppers are encouraged to meet festive entertainers either at the north or south end of Regent Street and walk together to turn the lights on.

Fourteen stunning 3D light clusters will be illuminated as people pass under them, culminating in a beautiful light display. On the run up to Christmas the Regent Street Christmas lights will change their festive formation, responding, via motion cameras, to the density of pedestrians in the street, as well as environmental factors including wind speed, weather and sunlight levels.

Each of the 14 light clusters is made up of a large central opaque sphere, surrounded by 24 smaller spheres. Each contains a low energy LED core and will operate like a series of pixels with the ability to be individually programmed. They are 100% recyclable and the LEDs use a fifth of the energy required by traditional light bulbs, thereby reducing the energy consumption over the 7-week period from 4,657 Kilowatt Hours to approximately 465 KwH (a saving of 4,192 KwH).

UNITY will be illuminated from 20 November until 6 January.

The modern and futuristic Regent Street Christmas lights will complement the new shops that have opened recently including Desigual, Hoss and COS. These contemporary brands join long-established Regent Street names such as Aquascutum, Jaeger, Liberty, Mappin and Webb, Hamleys and Austin Reed.

All of the West End Christmas Lights; Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street, are carbon offset through PURE, the first UK registered charity dedicated to combating climate change by carbon offsetting, which uses a technology-based approach to reducing carbon emissions.

For more information, visit Regentstreetonline.com; Thecrownestate.co.uk; Nokia.co.uk.