Fareham's lights come on at 5.30pm on Saturday 21 November 2026 under the West Street bandstand, with the day's event from 10am. Whiteley's is 5 December.

Fareham’s Christmas lights come on at 5.30pm on Saturday 21 November 2026. The event around it runs all day, from 10am to 7pm on West Street, and the switch itself happens under the town centre bandstand.

That is straight from Fareham Borough Council’s own Christmas in Fareham page, checked on 5 September 2026. Fareham Shopping Centre’s 2026 events list gives the same date and the same 10am to 7pm window.

Fareham town centre, Saturday 21 November
Date Saturday 21 November 2026
Event times 10am to 7pm
Lights on 5.30pm, under the bandstand
Where West Street, Fareham town centre
Price Free to attend

The council’s page names three things it has confirmed so far:

  • Buskin’ Blitzen, live music from solo artists and duos through the day, put together by James Westerby Music.
  • A community stage outside Millets, with a programme of choirs, dance schools, theatre groups and local organisations.
  • Community and street performers, funfair rides and games, an outdoor market, and festive food and drink. Stalls are being organised by Funyard Events.

Beyond that the council says plainly: “Check back here for more details later in the year!” So there is no line-up, no ride prices and no named switch-on guest yet. In 2025 the Mayor did the honours alongside Father Christmas and members of the cast of Fareham Live’s pantomime, and free children’s activities that year included letter writing to Santa, Christingle making and Christmas Lego. Expect a similar shape rather than an identical one.

If you want to perform or take a stall, the council’s Leisure and Community Team is on 01329 236100 or leisure@fareham.gov.uk.

Whiteley, Saturday 5 December

Whiteley runs its own switch-on a fortnight later. Whiteley Town Council’s home page lists “4.30pm Saturday 5th December Christmas Lights Switch On” in its 2026 events. The council states that its events are “free to all except Fireworks”, so this one is free.

No venue is named on that list. The town council’s other outdoor events are at Meadowside Recreation Ground and Barn Farm Community Centre, and it directs people to its Facebook page for detail, but we are not going to guess a location it has not published.

Locks Heath has no 2026 date

Switch On Locks Heath, the festive afternoon on Centre Way, SO31 6DX, has no announced 2026 date. Visit Hampshire’s listing for it still carries a Saturday 26 November start time of 1pm, and the page itself says “Sorry, this event has passed”. 26 November 2026 is a Thursday, so that date belongs to an earlier year and should not be trusted for this one.

Festive Thursdays: expect December, not yet announced

Fareham’s late-night Christmas shopping is a separate thing from the switch-on. The council’s Festive Thursdays page is live but carries no 2026 dates. It describes shops open until 8pm and The Courtyard pop-up market trading Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 5.30pm, without saying which Thursdays.

For scale, in 2025 the council ran it on Thursday 11 and Thursday 18 December, with the shopping centre open until 8pm, a festive indoor market, free children’s activities including mini golf, storytelling, a Santa’s grotto, face painting and elf workshops, roaming entertainers in the Winter Garden, and free parking in town centre car parks from 5pm. The 2026 dates were announced on 19 November last year, so expect them in mid-November.

One thing that is confirmed for this Christmas: Flo’s Pop-Up @ The Courtyard, a vacant shopping centre unit turned over to Hampshire makers, will trade every weekend from November to Christmas and will form part of Festive Thursdays. We covered that announcement here.

Parking on switch-on day

The switch-on is a Saturday, so normal charges apply. Fareham Borough Council’s tariffs run Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm, and the concession that makes outer car parks free applies on Sundays and bank holidays, which 21 November is not. Charges stop at 6pm, half an hour after the lights go on.

West Street through the event area is pedestrianised, so there is no road closure to plan around, but the car parks nearest the bandstand fill first. Full tariffs, the blue badge rules and the split between the borough’s car parks and Hampshire County Council’s on-street bays are on our parking in Fareham page.

Check roadworks and travel before you drive in. The M27 junction 10 rebuild has been closing slip roads and, on some nights, full carriageways, and the work runs through the autumn.

What we will update

  • Fareham’s line-up, stage times and children’s activities, once the council fills in its “more details later in the year”.
  • Festive Thursdays 2026 dates, expected mid-November.
  • Whiteley’s switch-on venue, if the town council publishes one.
  • Locks Heath, if a 2026 date appears anywhere first-hand.

Sources