Every festive season, London lights up with dazzling displays of winter wonder — from twinkling lights along Regent Street to giant Christmas trees in Trafalgar Square. In 2025, one of the city’s most compelling festive spectacles isn’t just another string of lights or decorative wreaths, but a technological and artistic transformation of Battersea Power Station, one of London’s most iconic industrial landmarks. For the first time ever, Apple has invited the British public to help design a series of glowing Christmas trees using its iPad — and these artworks now illuminate the historic façades of Battersea each night throughout the holiday season.
This installation — blending creativity, community, and cutting-edge technology — marks a new chapter in how public art can bring people together in celebration, and how a tech product like the iPad can transcend utility to become a tool of cultural expression.
A Longstanding London Holiday Tradition Reimagined
Battersea Power Station, once a giant coal-fired facility supplying electricity to London, is now an emblem of urban regeneration — serving as a mixed-use hub of offices, shops, restaurants and cultural space. In recent years, it has become the setting for Apple’s holiday art displays, starting with commissioned artworks by established creators. In 2023, the famed artist David Hockney brought his “Bigger Christmas Trees” to life on the building’s iconic chimneys using an iPad Pro. The next year saw a playful stop-motion feature involving Wallace & Gromit captured on Apple devices.
In 2025, Apple took the concept a bold step further by democratizing creation. Rather than only featuring works by celebrated makers, Apple opened up the creative process to everyone with an iPad — providing an unprecedented opportunity for members of the public to have their own Christmas tree designs projected onto this grand architectural canvas. This year’s iteration, titled “Your Tree on Battersea,” invited people across the United Kingdom — amateur doodlers, students, professionals, and families alike — to channel their holiday spirit into digital creations that now glow nightly above the River Thames.
“Your Tree on Battersea”: A Celebration of Collective Creativity
At the heart of this year’s holiday installation is the Your Tree on Battersea competition — Apple’s first truly public design initiative for this landmark display. For the first time ever, ordinary people were asked to draw their own Christmas tree designs on an iPad, using Apple Pencil or digital art tools, and submit them for a chance to be showcased in London’s skyline during the festive period.
The process was delightfully inclusive: participants of all ages and artistic backgrounds were encouraged to take part. Entries poured in from across the UK, with characters, color palettes, and imaginative interpretations of holiday motifs ranging from joyously whimsical to deeply personal. Whether a seven-year-old artist inspired by simple emotions or a seasoned illustrator exploring complex patterns, every piece offered a unique creative voice.
Once submissions closed, Apple selected 24 winning designs — each representing a different creative perspective and spirit — to be projected in rotation onto Battersea Power Station’s towering chimneys and wash towers. These projections run from early evening until late night every day through 24 December, becoming one of London’s most talked-about seasonal attractions.
How the iPad Became the Artist’s Canvas
Why an iPad? Years after its release, the iPad has become more than a consumer gadget — it’s a portable digital studio. With sophisticated drawing apps, incredible touch responsiveness, and support for Apple Pencil, the iPad empowers creators to sketch, paint, and design with precision and creativity once previously possible only with traditional tools or desktop software.
This project showcases the iPad’s versatility as a creative device. Participants used everything from simple sketching apps to advanced illustration programs, layering colours, effects, and personal symbolism to create festive trees that resonate in varied and expressive ways. Many artists incorporated themes like family, joy, nature, and community, making their designs both visually compelling and emotionally rich.
Apple’s decision to invite public participation reflects a broader philosophy: creativity isn’t limited to professionals. With the right tools — in this case, the iPad — anyone can produce meaningful digital art, and see it celebrated on a monumental scale.
A Fusion of Technology and Tradition
At first glance, projecting digital art onto a historic industrial icon may seem like a modern departure from classic holiday decorations. Yet this fusion of high technology and tradition illustrates how contemporary tools can enhance longstanding cultural celebrations.
Instead of static light installations, Apple’s projections introduce dynamic, ever-changing scenes. Each winning artwork appears in rotation, bringing its own mood and message. The glowing trees reflect diverse artistic sensibilities and interpretations of Christmas, giving viewers new reasons to revisit the landmark throughout the season.
The scale of the projections — towering above the Thames and visible from many vantage points along London’s South Bank — transforms the cityscape into a living gallery. The interplay of digital creativity superimposed on the rugged brick façade of Battersea Power Station showcases how past and present can collaborate to produce something truly spectacular.
Highlights from the Winning Designs
Among the 24 selected designs, a few stand out for their creativity and the stories behind them. While each piece is compelling in its own right, some offer particularly memorable narratives:
-
The Emotional Tree by a Seven-Year-Old: One winner, a young artist just seven years old, created a tree inspired by their own feelings, using expressive shapes and colours to convey holiday joy. Such a child’s perspective reminds onlookers of the wonder that defines the season.
-
A Warm Market Tree: Another design was inspired by the cozy ambience of Christmas markets — with glowing stars and festive hats — capturing the warmth of community celebrations during the winter months.
-
Whimsical and Dreamlike Trees: Several designers embraced more imaginative approaches, depicting fantastical creatures and stylized forms that defy tradition but evoke a sense of holiday magic and playful curiosity.
These winning pieces, each born from a personal perspective, enrich the installation by presenting a broad spectrum of artistic voices. Collectively, they reflect how deeply varied our associations with Christmas can be — from quiet family moments to bold, joyful abstraction.
Community Engagement at the Core
Beyond its visual impact, Your Tree on Battersea has been a powerful example of community engagement. Apple didn’t just display art — it invited people to contribute directly to London’s festive atmosphere. This idea resonates with a broader cultural shift towards participatory art, where spectators become co-creators and public spaces become platforms for shared expression.
Workshops and drop-in sessions were hosted in Apple Stores throughout the UK, giving people hands-on opportunities to experiment with drawing tools, try new techniques, and refine their submissions. These sessions didn’t just support technical skill development — they created spaces for social engagement, encouraging people to connect through creativity.
This community ethos reflects a larger trend in public art and tech-driven cultural events: technology as a bridge, not a barrier — bringing people together in celebration, education, and shared experience.
The Landmark Itself: An Icon Illuminated
Battersea Power Station is one of London’s most recognizable landmarks. Its four towering chimneys are a defining part of the city’s skyline, familiar from postcards, films, and history books. The building’s industrial past gives it a rugged architectural beauty, which makes it a striking canvas for artistic projection.
This year’s installation adds a festive dimension to the landmark’s presence, turning it into a seasonal beacon that invites locals and visitors to pause, reflect, and engage with the community’s creative spirit. Whether viewed from a nighttime cruise on the Thames, a cozy café near the riverbank, or the bustling streets of Battersea itself, the illuminated trees cast a warm and joyful glow over the surroundings.
The projection’s scale is significant — towering over 300 feet above the ground — which means it’s visible across wide areas of London. From dusk until late into the night, the landmark becomes a shared focal point, drawing attention and admiration, and adding to London’s vibrant holiday atmosphere.
A New Chapter in Holiday Celebrations
In many ways, this project signals a new way to think about holiday celebrations in the digital age. Where once public art installations and festive displays were created by a select few professionals, today’s technologies enable democratized creativity — giving individuals the tools to contribute to cultural narratives in meaningful and visible ways.
Apple’s initiative is a testament to how creative tools like the iPad can become part of our cultural traditions — encouraging innovation, personal expression, and community involvement. This festive makeover of Battersea Power Station isn’t just a beautiful visual display; it’s a celebration of shared ideas, diverse voices, and the joy of creation.
In a year marked by technological advances and increasing interest in creative digital expression, the Battersea installation stands out as a beacon of inclusive art — where every submitted design, whether simple or elaborate, is valued and showcased with pride.
Beyond the Lights: What This Means for the Future
As technology becomes increasingly integrated into daily life, its role in cultural and artistic events continues to grow. Apple’s Battersea project highlights how products once designed for productivity and entertainment — like the iPad — can evolve into powerful tools for artistic expression and community connection.
While traditional holiday displays will always hold a special place in public consciousness, initiatives like Your Tree on Battersea show that the future of festive art may be even more interactive, collaborative, and imaginative. As cities around the world seek ways to bring people together and celebrate shared moments, digital creations projected onto iconic landscapes may become a new tradition in their own right.
This year, London embraced that future with open arms — and with the help of a tablet, a touch of imagination, and the collective spirit of people from all walks of life.
Conclusion: A Festive Fusion of Art, Technology, and Community
Apple’s 2025 holiday installation at Battersea Power Station is more than just a festive spectacle. It’s a celebration of human creativity, a testament to the power of accessible tools like the iPad, and a reminder that the holiday season is, at its core, about connection and shared joy.
By inviting people to contribute their own digital Christmas tree designs — and then projecting those works onto one of London’s most iconic structures — Apple has transformed a landmark into a living canvas of collective imagination. As Battersea glows nightly with diverse illustrations of what Christmas means to individuals across the UK, it stands as a fitting symbol of the season: bright, warm, and brought to life by the creativity of the people it celebrates.