Dundee Christmas Switch On 2026

Excitement is building across Dundee as the city prepares to welcome the festive season in style with the Dundee Christmas Switch On event on Sunday 15 November.

Promising a fantastic day of festive entertainment for all ages, the city centre will come alive with live music, roaming performers, street food, funfair rides, market stalls and, new for this year, an exciting family drone display! Plus, everyone's favourite festive mischief-maker, The Grinch, will be making a welcome return to Dundee!

Kicking off the celebrations will be the return of the popular Dundee Santa Dash - a festive fun run taking participants through the heart of the city. Active Dundee coaches will take to the stage to lead runners in a festive warm up with special guests from the MKM Dundee Stars team and their mascot Starsky cheering them on.

The festive atmosphere will continue to build throughout the afternoon, with Tay FM’s Gregor and Lynsey taking to the stage from 4pm to entertain the crowds with music and live performances.

As darkness falls, all eyes will turn to the skies for a family friendly drone display, just after the city's Christmas tree lights are switched on at 6pm, marking a magical start to the festive season, with a very special appearance from Santa himself!

And the celebrations won't stop there! Following the big switch-on, headline act Just the Brave, who are an up-and-coming Scottish boyband, will take to the stage to keep the festive atmosphere going and round off a fantastic day of Christmas celebrations.

The full programme is as follows:

Morning
10.30am – Santa Dash Warm Up with Active Dundee (City Square)
11.00am – Santa Dash Fun Run (City Square)

All day activities - City Square

10.00am - 7.00pm 
Christmas Market in association with The Yard Market
Christmas Crafts tent with Scrapantics
Family Fun Fair Rides
Snow Globe photobooth
Street Food
 
Afternoon - High St/City Square
12.00pm - Festive Playlist with Tay FM, Street Performers:

• The Grinch

• The Giant Snowglobe acrobatics performances: 1.30pm, 2.45pm, 4.30pm, 5.25pm

• Show Globe – A Living Snow Globe (2pm, 3pm, 4pm)

• Acrobatic Elves

• The Candy Cane Fairy and The Nutcracker Prince stiltwalkers

• Ross Brown Football Freestyler

• Santa! Picking up letters from the on-site postbox at 4.30pm

3.30pm – Live Music & Entertainment hosted by Tay FM’s Gregor & Lynsey
3.40pm – Dundee Instrumental Band
4.00pm – Rock the Halls
4.20pm – Downfield Musical Society - Cinderella
4.45pm – Thomson-Leng Musical Society – Mother Goose
5.05pm – Dundee Rep Theatre - Snowqueen
5.25pm – The Vintage Girls

5:50pm – Switch-on Party (6pm Tree lights switched on)
6:00pm – Family Drone Display
6.10pm – Just the Brave

7.00pm - Event Close

One lucky person will be the star of the show - joining Santa and the Lord Provost on stage and pushing the big button on the special light-up plinth! 
The winner will also a Dundee goodie bag including a £150 Dundee Gift Card. Full details and how to enter can be found on the Tay FM website.

Cllr Mark Flynn, Leader of Dundee City Council, met with some members of Scottish boyband Just the Brave in City Square to talk about their headline set. He said: “Christmas is a special time for Dundee, bringing our communities together and showcasing the pride we all share in our city. The Christmas Lights Switch On is a highlight of our festive calendar, and this year’s celebrations will be even more special with the addition of a spectacular family drone show.

“I was delighted to recently meet Scottish boyband Just the Brave, whose talent will complement the fantastic local performers taking to the stage. It promises to be a wonderful occasion for residents and visitors alike, bringing people together to enjoy the magic of Christmas in the heart of Dundee.”

Speaking ahead of the event, Just the Brave said: “We can’t wait to headline Dundee’s Christmas Lights and give them a show to remember. We’d love to meet everyone on the day too and can’t wait to teach Santa and the Grinch some backflips, and perhaps even the Lord Provost of Dundee some harmonies. We’ll also be performing a brand new song for the first time on the day.”

The family drone display will be the first of its kind in Dundee. Eoin O’Grady, Director of FlightShows, who are providing the drone display, said: “We’re excited to bring A Christmas Star to Dundee for the city’s first drone show. The show follows a little star on a festive adventure, with colourful scenes appearing and transforming in the night sky, all choreographed to music.”

“For us at FlightShows, A Christmas Star is about bringing people together. We want children pointing out what they can see, grown-ups getting caught up in the story, and families heading home feeling that Christmas has properly begun. We can’t wait to share our story in the stars with Dundee.”

The Christmas Switch On will see large numbers of locals and visitors head for the city centre, bringing a boost for businesses at the start of the festive period. 

Cllr Flynn added: “Events like our Christmas Switch On are a great opportunity to support Dundee’s local businesses and traders, while bringing more people into the city centre and benefiting the wider local economy. The market on the day will showcase a range of local traders, giving people the chance to shop local while enjoying the festive celebrations.

Further announcements about travel to the event and road closures will be made in due course.

Making sure the event is accessible to all, there will be live BSL on stage from 4-6.15pm, a quiet space managed by Uppertunity, in the former Bee Inspired unit in the Overgate from 4-6.15pm for anyone who needs it and a changing places toilet (accessiloo) on site all day. 

More details of the event, an accessibility guide and more information about the entire Christmas in Dundee 2026 offering can be found on dundee.com.