The perfect tree(t): Adelaide City Council launches global search for new Victoria Square Christmas tree
The Victoria Square Christmas centrepiece has seen better days, the city council says, as it looks beyond Australia for a world-class replacement. See what’s on the wishlist.
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After a tough few years for Adelaide’s Christmas display a global search has been launched to spruce it up.
The Adelaide City Council has called for global expressions of interest and says it is looking for a new “creative and innovative” Christmas tree installation in Victoria Square as it prepares to mothball the current 25m-tall decoration at the end of this festive period.
It follows comments from a by a prestigious event co-ordinator last year the 25-year-old tree was “lacking any sort of Christmas joy”.
“The Giant Christmas tree in Victoria Square has been recognised as one of those installations that has reached its ‘end of life’ and is in need of significant renewal,” the tender documents concede.
“The ‘Giant Christmas tree’ more recently has been labelled one dimensional, static, dated and not overly engaging, especially during daytime hours.”
Tender documents show the council is calling on expressions of interest from around the world for artists, industrial designers and fabricators to create the “iconic project”.
“The council view this project as an opportunity to reinforce Adelaide as one of the most beautiful cities in the world by re-imagining its iconic ‘Giant Christmas tree’ installation in Victoria Square.”
The new design should convey a “strong presence to its location and (be) easily identifiable by visitors”, the documents state.
It must not exceed 28m tall and should last for a minimum of 25 years.
The council has almost doubled the number of decoration on the Victoria Square tree from 365 to 660 this year, after it was slammed as “povo” by Atmosphere Events owner Sam Rice last year.
In an Advertiser online poll, 85 per cent of nearly 1500 respondents agreed the display was “dull and lacked Christmas joy”.
Taking on the criticism, the council also designed and installed new lit Christmas decorations to display between Victoria Square and Rundle Mall.
City councillor Phillip Martin said it was an opportunity for Adelaide to “lift its game”.
“When you look around the world, there are some truly spectacular Christmases,” he told the Advertiser.
“While it would be difficult to emulate the displays in London and New York, I think we can come up with a spectacular Adelaide Christmas.”
He hoped the tenders would be as “creative as possible” and said it was an “opportunity to do something really good for the city of Adelaide”.
“We need to ask ourselves, is that the kind of tree we want (because) it’s probably time we stepped back and asked if can we do it better.”
While no budget is currently set for the project, a spokesman revealed the council “invests $1.8 million annually into Christmas, with a focus on Rundle Mall, Adelaide Central Market, Victoria Square and other key locations across the City and North Adelaide.”
“A new Christmas Plan for 2025-2028 is being developed following community consultation.
“This will inform Council’s vision for decorations moving forward.”
Submissions for the 2025 Christmas tree are open from now until February.
Expressions of interest will be reviewed by the council’s ‘Giant Christmas tree Renewal’ assessment panel, with shortlisted candidates notified by April next year.
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