Truro BID

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Truro BID to prioritise the city's annual Christmas Lights Installation over the Christmas Lights Switch-on event

Released 19 May 2025

Due to financial pressures Truro Business Improvement District (BID) have made the decision to prioritise projects including installing and maintaining the city centre Christmas Lights rather than holding a dedicated Truro Christmas Lights Switch-on event this year. 

Truro BID is a not-for-profit organisation that funds, installs, and maintains Truro’s Christmas lights each year using the BID levy contributions from 362 of Truro’s city centre Businesses. Along with financing the Christmas Lights, Truro BID uses its BID Levy to deliver activities over and above the services provided by local authorities and statutory agencies which aim to increase footfall into the city to support the High Street. 

Since 2021 Truro BID was able to deliver and fund the annual Christmas Lights Switch-on event, called Festive Friday, as they received grants during the Covid pandemic to support the High Street and made operational savings from being unable to hold events because of Covid.

Truro BID has benefitted from having some in-kind support from the Hall for Cornwall, Truro City Council, and sponsorship to deliver the Festive Friday event. However, Truro BID can now no longer afford the city’s Christmas Lights Switch-on event without significant, additional funding to the income already generated from the local businesses BID levy contributions. 

Due to the scale of Truro’s Christmas Lights Switch-on event, a substantial budget is required to ensure that the event is as safe as possible by funding ample security staff, the two large viewing screens, Mojo Pit Safety Barriers and first aid providers. In addition, the event has significant technical and content costs. 

Truro’s City Centre Christmas lights will now come on automatically this year during the afternoon of Saturday 22nd November to coincide with the first Saturday of Truro’s outdoor Christmas Markets. 

There will continue to be a programme of festive activities in Truro from 22nd November including Christmas Markets and full details will be announced later this year and listed on www.visittruro.org.uk. 

Truro BID will continue funding, maintaining, and installing the city’s annual Christmas lights and keep on funding the Truro Rangers security patrols that they introduced in April 2023. They will also continue part-funding the City’s Anti-Social Behaviour Officer. Other events organised by Truro BID including Children’s Day, the Truro Classic Car Show and the Father Christmas Parade are set to continue, along with the daily operational support role that the small BID Team provide to the city centre along with Truro City Council and Cornwall Council.

Alun Jones, Truro BID Manager said: “Thank you to everyone who has previously supported Truro’s Christmas Lights Switch-on. We hope that people will appreciate us prioritising the Christmas lights installations, and our other commitments to the city including the Truro Rangers security patrols, over a one evening switch-on event. Many other towns and cities in the UK, including Exeter and Leeds, have dropped their formal City Centre Christmas lights switch-on events over the last few years due to the cost. In lots of cases, the switch-on event also had a limited benefit for the high street businesses who have funded the event. There will still be plenty going on for everyone to enjoy in Truro over the festive period and the Christmas Lights will be enhancing the city for six weeks this year from Saturday 22nd November.”

For more details on the events, projects and services provided by Truro BID please see www.trurobid.co.uk. 

Ends

Notes to editors: 

• Truro BID is a not-for-profit company that delivers projects, events, and services for the benefit of Truro and Truro’s businesses.

• In addition to delivering the Christmas Lights, one of Truro BIDs biggest expenditures is paying for the Truro Rangers security resource who provide 46 hours of foot patrols each week to deter low level crime and violence against shop workers.

• Truro BID invoices levy payments totalling £322,000 from the 362 businesses that operated in the Business Improvement District during the last financial year and the in-year collection rate for 2024/2025 was 96.45%.

• Truro BID delivers various events during the year including Children’s Day, the Truro Classic Car Show, and the Father Christmas Parade.

• Truro BID also joint funds with Truro City Council the annual summer floral hanging baskets and displays which are delivered by the City Council’s Parks Team.

• The cost of the 2024 Festive Friday event was in the region of £30,000.

• Visit Truro is a service provided by Truro City Council, its key roles are to undertake the destination marketing of the city and drive the growth of the visitor economy.