London’s sad Christmas tree

This year’s annual festive gift from Norway fails to wow social media users

Christmas tree being installed
The installation of last year’s Christmas tree at Trafalgar Square in London
(Image credit: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

Londoners flocked to Trafalgar Square last night for the lighting up of the Christmas tree sent from Norway each year – but this year’s fir is failing to dazzle.

One side of the 80-year-old spruce looks “thinner and more sparse than normal”, said The Daily Telegraph. The tree’s patchy appearance was also noted by another Twitter user who asked: “Does anyone know what happened to the rest of it?”

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

According to the Mayor of London’s website, the annual gift is selected from the forests surrounding Oslo “with great care several months, even years, in advance”.

The chosen tree is transported to London by boat and then lorry, before being rigged up in Trafalgar Square using a hydraulic crane. Some critics have wondered whether alternative transport arrangements may have been made this time, however.

While the effort put into the gift is clear, other online commentators have suggested that the slightly less luxuriant condition of this year’s pine might be connected to Manchester United's sacking of Norwegian manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The online criticisms have been dismissed by the British ambassador to Norway, Richard Wood, who tweeted that that the tree is “an amazing gesture from the people of Oslo” that was “appreciated by the vast majority”.

And even if this year’s gift is a little below par, said The Guardian, “is anything secretly more festive and fun than a disappointing fir?”

Explore More