Merry and not so bright: European cities cut back on Christmas lights amid energy crunch
Breanne Deppisch
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Cities across Europe are either turning off or drastically scaling back their Christmas lights this holiday season in efforts to cut back on energy use as the bloc adjusts to its first winter without Russian fossil fuels.
With supplies scarce, and the prospect of rations looming, city officials across Austria, Denmark, Germany, and the U.K., have all imposed limitations on how long the lights can stay on, and whether or not taxpayers will be forced to foot the high bills.
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Below is a roundup of ways that some countries are scaling back:
AUSTRIA
Austria will not be deploying its traditional lights along the Ring, a famous boulevard that encircles the center of Vienna, city spokeswoman Roberta Kraft told AFP.
Lights at its Vienna Christmas market, a beloved staple by Europeans far beyond Austria, will also be turned on later in the night, as opposed to at dusk, as in previous years.
DENMARK
The charismatic Christmas décor in Copenhagen will continue, officials decided, citing the need to attract consumers to the city and ensure retailers can continue turning a profit. But it will do so on a smaller scale, reducing lighting time and power consumption this holiday season by 60%.
Holiday light displays were also turned on two weeks later than usual.
Some fear the energy-saving tactics will backfire on cities, driving away would-be buyers during the most festive time of year, and a time that many city retailers are dependent upon in order to stay afloat.
“I can’t imagine this not having an impact on buying behavior,” Marcel Stoffel, head of the Swiss Council of Shopping Places, told Bloomberg. “Experience is important in brick-and-mortar retail.”
GERMANY
Berlin city officials announced in September that they would not use public funding for Christmas lighting this year, citing the need to cut back on energy spending.
Lights along Kurfürstendamm boulevard, a famous street in the German capital city, were turned on in recent days, thanks to an 11th-hour influx of private donations. But other famed streets known for their bright lights, bustling holiday markets, and annual displays remain dark, putting a damper on tourism across the capital city.
Meanwhile, German non-profit group Deutsche Umwelthilfe has urged the German people to forgo their annual light displays this year, even when it comes to individual homes and apartments. Cities, the group said, should do the same.
One compromise the non-profit suggested? A single illuminated tree in each community.
In Frankfurt, authorities cut back on lighting and said they don’t heat toilets in the city’s beloved Roemer Square Christmas Market.
U.K.
The famous Christmas lights on Oxford Street in London will reduce their operating time to eight hours a day and switch to all-LED lighting, slashing its energy consumption by two-thirds.
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But authorities in many other parts of Britain have not been able to do the same, citing the rising costs.
The cities of Cambridgeshire, Surrey, Bristol, Kent ,and Buckinghamshire all plan to stay dark this year, canceling annual Christmas markets and displays that normally attract an influx of tourists.