Jamie Cullum, Trevor Nelson and Anna Lapwood are headlining this year’s Christmas at the Royal Albert Hall – a month-long festive extravaganza that’s bringing everything from jazz to The Nutcracker to South Ken.
The 2025 programme kicks off properly mental. We’re talking Grammy-nominated hymnwriters Keith and Kristyn Getty making their Hall debut, Tony Hadley doing big band Christmas numbers, and Home Alone screenings with a full orchestra. Because nothing says Christmas like watching Macaulay Culkin terrorise burglars whilst the Royal Philharmonic plays along.
Matthew Todd, the Hall’s Director of Programming, reckons they’ve nailed it: “Whether your tastes run to ballet or big band music; whether you’re in the mood to hear the capital’s finest gospel singers or belt out ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ yourself, there’s something for you.”
The season kicks off on 2 December with Hadley’s Christmas Big Band show. The Spandau Ballet frontman will be mixing Sinatra standards with hits like ‘True’ and ‘Gold’. Proper nostalgic stuff.
Three days later, Glyndebourne brings Handel’s Messiah to the venue, whilst the Home Alone screenings run on Saturdays 6 and 13 December.
The jazz contingent gets serious with Jamie Cullum and Guy Barker doing their distinctive Christmas spins. Cullum’s bringing Kansas Smitty’s as special guests, whilst Barker’s celebrating 10 years of Big Band Christmases with veterans like Clare Teal and Joe Stilgoe.
Trevor Nelson’s Soul Christmas returns too – the Radio 2 host bringing soul and R&B tracks reimagined with the BBC Concert Orchestra, followed by his own DJ set.
The traditional stuff’s covered with 16 Carol performances running until Christmas Eve, including an autism-friendly ‘relaxed’ version on 21 December. The Royal Choral Society – who’ve performed at the Hall every Christmas since 1872 – host shows on 15 December with acclaimed baritone Roderick Williams.
Anna Lapwood gets her first festive show as the Hall’s official organist on 18 December, leading carols from the console with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and guest violinist Esther Abrami.
The season wraps with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s epic Nutcracker production – six performances created specially for the Hall with period costumes, projections, and live music from the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.
The venue’s Verdi and Elgar Room restaurants are also doing festive menus throughout December, because obviously.
So, if you’ve managed to wrap your head around that, you’re in for a wild Christmas.
Tickets are available from the Royal Albert Hall website.
