The city's budget for this year's Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration did not include fireworks. When staff priced the evening against the Tourism and Marketing budget, the City-funded package left out the fireworks and a second wine garden. The fireworks are back because the Rodeo Drive Committee confirmed three local sponsors for an estimated $45,000: Gearys, Auto Vault and Two Rodeo Drive. The event had not traditionally used sponsors before.
That one budget line explains the 2026 season. The city cut its citywide holiday décor, which is paid for from a separate budget. Rodeo Drive's program, funded by hotel taxes, kept its city money but needed sponsors for the finale. The celebration is Thursday, November 19, from 5 to 8 p.m. It is free, and the theme is "50 Years of Brilliance" for the Rodeo Drive Committee's 50th anniversary. The City of Beverly Hills confirmed the date and hours in an October 22 notice.
Where the money comes from, and how much there is
The holiday program runs on hotel guests. Beverly Hills charges a 14 percent Transient Occupancy Tax on hotel room sales. For roughly 28 years, one-seventh of that revenue has set the size of the city's Tourism and Marketing budget. That budget pays for the Rodeo Drive décor and the lighting event, along with the Concours car show and landscaping in the business triangle.
The 2026 figures, from the September staff reports to City Council:
- City contribution to the one-night event: $667,575
- Event total with sponsorship: $712,575
- Rodeo Drive holiday décor: $566,959.20
- Combined décor and event: $1,279,534.20
The Council approved the event program and the liaison committee's recommendations at its September 1 study session. On September 22 it took up the purchase order with J. Ben Bourgeois Productions, the producer of the Rodeo Drive décor and lighting events since 2019. The liaison committee also asked that long-term décor take priority over the one-night event. With that priority, the décor that stays up all season was fully funded, while the few minutes of fireworks depended on sponsors.
Weather could add one more cost. Last year the event needed a rain plan for only the second time in a decade. It cost $42,875 and allowed the celebration to go ahead with good attendance. If it rains again, the money would come from a contingency fund outside the base budget.
Why the lights hang down instead of across
Rodeo Drive will look different this year, and the reason is physical. The original plan strung garlands across the street. The staff report says the structural condition of Rodeo's street light poles made garlands a possible safety issue. Ongoing construction on the street also pushed the Council and the Rodeo Drive Committee toward a design that draws the eye upward.
The new design expands the "dripping" lights that have hung in the median palms for several years. Every sidewalk palm gets them too, and strands run from the sidewalk to the median. The block gets 16 strands instead of the 4 garlands first proposed. The budget stays the same. Public Works reviewed the design and found no risk to the trees or to pedestrians and vehicles.
Banners round out the décor. The street has 28 of them, 10 on the sidewalk and 18 in the median. The Council was asked to choose one colorway from black and gold, red and silver, or blue and silver. Black and gold most closely matches the Committee's 50th-anniversary colors. Installation and light testing happen overnight so Rodeo merchants are not disrupted.
Off Rodeo, the season is plainer
Rodeo got a fuller design with the same money. Citywide décor comes from a separate capital budget and a contract with Utopia Worldwide, and it was cut. At an April 21 study session on a zero-based budget, the Council reviewed reductions to citywide lighting and décor. A committee was asked to cut annual costs by 50 percent. The plan presented to Council in September cut them 37 percent for 2026.
Items the plan keeps:
- Warm white lights throughout the business district
- The Santa and Reindeer display
- The Wilshire spans
- Beverly Cañon Gardens, with the same décor as the past two years
- The menorah scene and tree at Beverly Gardens Park
- Lights on the Lily Pond, reusing earlier programming, possibly with fewer reeds
- Pole lights and lighted garland with bows on Robertson Boulevard
- White street spans on North Beverly and North Cañon
- Canopy spheres on South Beverly
- Snowflakes on South Santa Monica Boulevard west of Wilshire
- A static projection on the Crescent side of City Hall, plus background audio in the Triangle
Items the plan drops or scales back:
- The Jolly Trolley
- Banner up-lighting
- Colored lights and canopy spheres on La Cienega, which keeps its year-round white twinkle lights
- Colored lights and canopy décor on Camden Drive, which also keeps its white twinkle lights
- Annual replacement of the citywide twinkle lights, which moves to every other year. Staff are also studying whether lighting every other tree in some areas would save money.
These are the changes as proposed. If you walk Camden or La Cienega in December, they may look the same as in July. Robertson, South Beverly and Rodeo will look the most festive.
The block on November 19
The event closes more streets for longer than the three-hour show suggests. The approved plan closes these from Wednesday, November 18 at 9 p.m. until Friday, November 20 at 6 a.m.:
- Rodeo Drive from South Santa Monica Boulevard to Wilshire
- Dayton Way from Rodeo Drive to the alleys on either side
- Brighton Way from Rodeo Drive to the alleys on either side
The city's Brighton Garage and Two Rodeo Garage stay accessible through the alleys. Access to the Rodeo Collection Garage on the 400 block was left for discussion with the affected tenants. City staff handle resident notifications, so if you live or work near the Triangle, expect a notice before the closures begin.
The stage is at Brighton Way and Rodeo Drive. Past celebrations have drawn up to 10,000 people over the three hours. The area near that intersection will be the most crowded, especially for the countdown.
According to the Love Beverly Hills event page, the host is entertainer and reporter Ali Ward. The lineup:
- Dani Armstrong: featured vocalist
- Daniel Ho: six-time GRAMMY winner, presenting "Island Holidays"
- DJ Lady Sha: DJ set
- Ortal Edri: Los Angeles singer-songwriter and winner of the first "Rodeo Drive Has Talent" search
- Marianna Kriuchenkova: eight-year-old vocalist and fellow "Rodeo Drive Has Talent" winner
The talent search is new this year. The city chose it, along with professional performers, over booking a headliner. Mayor Craig Corman, the City Council and the Rodeo Drive Committee executive board will lead the countdown and lighting. The sponsor-backed fireworks follow.
Along the closed blocks, the plan includes holiday skaters, stilt walkers, an oversized tricycle and Santa with "red carpet security." A photo spot puts Santa in front of the Beverly Hills trolley. There will be one wine garden, plus food trucks and stands run by local businesses.
Getting there, and staying after
The new subway does not reach Rodeo yet. Metro's D Line extension opened its first section on May 8, 2026. That section runs from Koreatown to the Wilshire/La Cienega area. The Metro project page lists the section through Beverly Hills and Century City as the next phase, so there is no station at Rodeo this November. From the La Cienega stop, it is a walk west along Wilshire.
For dinner after the show, Vicky on Rodeo is on the same block. The Beverly Hills Courier describes it as an all-day Parisian brasserie at Two Rodeo, open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Two Rodeo is also one of the sponsors backing this year's fireworks. Since the kitchen's posted hours end at 9 p.m., consider booking a table before the 5 p.m. start rather than after the fireworks.
The season's next public lighting is less than three weeks later. Hanukkah begins Friday, December 4, so the city scheduled its Community Menorah Lighting for Monday, December 7, at 5 p.m. That is the fourth night, chosen to avoid conflicting with Shabbat. It will be held at Beverly Gardens Park, beside the menorah display near the Lily Pond. The city's 2026 plan keeps both the menorah scene and the Lily Pond lights.
If the November 18 to 20 closures affect how you reach your home, office or a listing near the Triangle, Tholfaqar Al Emara can help you work out an access plan for those two days, whether for a showing, a delivery or a move. Let's Connect.
