Fareham's lights go on at 5.30pm on Sat 21 Nov: meet Santa 1.30pm to 5pm, face painting 1pm to 5pm, panto cast at 5pm, no fireworks. Free, 10am to 7pm.

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, where the Mayor of Fareham, Councillor Tina Ellis, will do the honours alongside Father Christmas and cast members from Fareham Live’s Jack and the Beanstalk.

Updated 29 September: the council has confirmed Father Christmas, the Mayor and the panto cast for the switch-on, plus the free activities, funfair rides and food area.

Updated 3 October: the council has published the Buskin’ Blitzen running order, nine acts from 10am, with James Westerby himself on at 2.30pm.

Updated 6 October: the council’s markets page now lists Thursday 10 and Thursday 17 December as this year’s Festive Thursdays, and Flo’s Pop-Up opens 9am to 7.30pm on switch-on day. The switch-on Christmas market and the other festive markets are on our Christmas markets page.

Updated 13 October: the council’s switch-on FAQs add Lego building and a chance to meet Santa outside, free mini golf and face painting inside Fareham Shopping Centre, bus routes into town and Shopmobility; its food page now names the concessions.

Updated 20 October: the council has published the full switch-on timetable, including the community stage running order, Santa meeting times (1.30pm to 5pm) and the finale from 5.15pm. There will be no fireworks. Free parking from 4pm is confirmed for the two Festive Thursdays, 10 and 17 December.

Updated 27 October: the council’s Festive Thursdays page now gives 2026 late shopping on 10 and 17 December as 4pm to 7pm, with 31 shops on its list, and Fareham Shopping Centre puts switch-on face painting at 1pm to 5pm.

That is straight from Fareham Borough Council’s own Christmas in Fareham page and its 14 September announcement, both checked on 29 September 2026 (the Christmas pages again on 3, 13 and 20 October). 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
Switching on The Mayor, Cllr Tina Ellis, with Father Christmas and the panto cast
Free children’s activities 10am to 4pm, around the bandstand
Where West Street, Fareham town centre
Price Free to attend

The timetable

The council’s switch-on timetable was published by 20 October. It says activities depend on the weather and may change on the day, with updates on the council’s Facebook page.

Time What Where
10am to 7pm Funfair rides (also Sunday 22 Nov, 10am to 4pm) West Street
10am to 7pm Food stalls West Street, between TK Maxx and Vito Lounge
10am to 7pm Outdoor festive market by Funyard Events Between the bandstand and Millets
10am to 4pm Free Christingle making (while stock lasts), graffiti decoration making and mini trail, Lego building with Small Dreams, Believe A Bubble workshops and shows Around the bandstand
10am to 4.45pm Buskin’ Blitzen performers Bandstand
10.15am to 4.45pm Community stage performances Outside Millets
10am to 4pm Free colouring Fareham Live cafe
10am to 5pm Christmas ceramics, cards and decorations with Crafty Makery Inside Fareham Shopping Centre
10am to 7pm Free mini golf Ping Pong Parlour, Fareham Shopping Centre
1pm to 5pm Free face painting by Card Factory (Fareham Shopping Centre) Inside Fareham Shopping Centre
1pm to 4pm Roaming street performers West Street
1.30pm to 5pm Free chances to meet Santa, at various times West Street
4.45pm to 5.15pm Sing-a-long with The Kitchen Sisters Bandstand
5pm Panto cast appearance West Street
5.15pm to 5.40pm Finale with the panto stars, Santa and the Mayor; lights on at 5.30pm Bandstand
Until 7pm Rides, market and food stalls stay open West Street and the shopping centre

There will be no fireworks, the council’s timetable says.

The community stage running order: 10am Lottie Lowther, 10.45am Upstage Theatre School, 11.30am Elegant Violence, 12.15pm Two Colours Choir, 12.45pm Theatre Arts, 1pm Sing Now Choir, 1.45pm NB Dance Academy, 2.30pm Fareham Live performers, 3pm Theatre Arts (The Naughty Elves), 3.45pm Fareham Live performers and 4.15pm Nathan Cannon.

What the council has confirmed so far:

  • Father Christmas is coming, the council’s release says, and joins the Mayor and her consort, Cllr Robert Ellis, and some of the pantomime cast for the 5.30pm countdown.
  • Free activities, 10am to 4pm around the bandstand: Christingle making, a bubble workshop and shows, graffiti bauble making, Lego building and a chance to meet Santa, plus a mini trail around the event.
  • Inside Fareham Shopping Centre: free mini golf and face painting, Flo’s Pop-Up market and roaming street performers, according to the council’s switch-on FAQs. The pantomime cast also does a walkabout.
  • Buskin’ Blitzen, live music from solo artists and duos under the bandstand through the day, put together by James Westerby Music. The running order: 10am The Flatcap Crooner, 10.45am Tia Maria, 11.30am Brigid Mcgovern, 12.15pm Aaron Atkinson, 1pm Shayley Stephens, 1.45pm Jemima Hewett, 2.30pm James Westerby, 3.15pm Olivia Drew, 4pm Tegan Marie.
  • A community stage outside Millets, with choirs, dance schools, theatre groups and local organisations from 10.15am to 4.45pm (running order above), before things move to the bandstand for the countdown.
  • A Christmas market of local makers stretching between the children’s play area and Millets, organised by Funyard Events, and an indoor market in The Courtyard unit in Fareham Shopping Centre.
  • A family funfair either side of the bandstand from Charles Coles Family Funfairs: a big wheel, trampolines, helter skelter, swing boats, mini waltzer and chair-o-planes, plus sweets, doughnuts and German sausages. Rides and games are paid for; the council takes cash and card but advises cash, because card machines can struggle with the crowds.
  • Food concessions along the pedestrianised West Street. The council’s festive food page now names NM Catering (handmade French crepes, hot fruit crumble, hot and cold drinks), Gyros of Thrones (Greek food) and a bratwurst stall, plus sweets, doughnuts and candy floss. Mulled wine comes from the pubs and bars along West Street rather than a dedicated event bar.

Still not published: ride prices. The council lists face painting times as TBC, but Fareham Shopping Centre’s own page gives free festive face painting by Card Factory from 1pm to 5pm. In 2025 the shape was much the same, with the Mayor, Father Christmas and the panto cast (Beauty and the Beast that year) at the switch.

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.

Portchester has no 2026 date yet

Portchester’s precinct lights are a separate, smaller event. The Portchester Community Association says on its own website that it “organises the Portchester Gala and the Portchester Precinct Christmas tree and lights”, but its site carries no 2026 switch-on date, and its old switch-on page is an empty template.

For reference, Portchester Community Choir’s events listing had the 2025 switch-on in Portchester Precinct on Saturday 6 December, with the choir due at 3pm; that listing now marks the choir’s slot as cancelled. We will add the 2026 date when the association publishes one.

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: Thursday 10 and 17 December

Fareham’s late-night Christmas shopping is a separate thing from the switch-on. The council’s Festive Thursdays page now runs both evenings 4pm to 7pm, with many Fareham Shopping Centre shops open until 7pm, and the council’s markets page lists Thursday 10 and Thursday 17 December 2026 as Festive Thursdays, with Flo’s Pop-Up @ The Courtyard open 9am to 7pm on both. The council’s Carols in the Garden page confirms free parking in all town centre council car parks from 4pm on both evenings (on those two dates only), with free carols, dance and music in the Civic Gardens from 4.30pm to 6pm. The list of shops opening late is on our Festive Thursdays page. Both evenings are on our Festive Thursdays page.

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. This year finishes an hour earlier, at 7pm, and free parking starts an hour earlier, at 4pm.

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 new M27 junction 10 opened in phases from 14 September, but the last slip roads and the lane restrictions between junctions 9 and 11 are not due to finish until later in the autumn and winter.

Getting there without a car

The council expects the town to be “very busy” and asks people to car share or come by bus or train. Its FAQs list these First Bus routes into Fareham Bus Station, next to Market Quay car park:

From First Bus services
Gosport E1, E2, X5, 9 or 11
Portsmouth 3 or X4
Whiteley 28 or 28A
Southampton X4 or X5

Fareham station is about a 10 minute walk from West Street, and there are bike racks in the pedestrianised area and by the bus station.

Shopmobility, inside Fareham Shopping Centre opposite Millets, will be open on switch-on day, but scooters and wheelchairs must be booked in advance.

What we will update

  • Ride prices, which the council has not yet published.
  • Whiteley’s switch-on venue, if the town council publishes one.
  • Portchester and Locks Heath, if a 2026 date appears anywhere first-hand.

Sources