WHY ARE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS SO ……UNILLUMINATING?
It’s easy to moan about the quality of the Christmas lights – in London, the moans have been getting stronger each year as the famous Oxford Street and Regent Street lights have consistently failed to add any cheer. By handing over power to the likes of Disney, the costs have been passed on, but the impact has been weakened to such a point that they are probably doing more harm than good.
Yet this contrasts with creative skills, particularly in the area of lighting and projections, that are the envy of the world. Search YouTube for lighting projections and many UK examples rise to the top, the latest being the recent event by Ralph Lauren on Bond Street – just a stone’s throw from the turgid red ribbons adorning the sky above Oxford Street.
http://4d.ralphlauren.co.uk/&ab=int_111110_HP_LIGHTSHOW_SEENOW
Go to pretty much any music show and you will be dazzled by the lights in a way that simply wasn’t possible a few years ago. Interactive displays pop up pretty much everywhere, and yet what could be a shining beacon of British creativity – the lights in the busiest shopping street in Europe at the busiest time of hte year – makes do with a homage to the 1970s and the latest marketing campaign for a movie blockbuster (they hope).
With such a huge amount of tourist traffic, surely someone in a position of power can see the benefit of dazzling visitors rather than underwhelming them?