Christmas street decorations are an accessory both liked and expensive. However, some of Warsaw's illumination on Nowy Swiat increasingly resembles large-format, three-dimensional advertising. Can you still see the holidays from between the giant pralines?
Castle Square and Krakowskie Przedmieście - illuminations from previous seasons
photo: ZDM
Most of the capital's Christmas illumination is an initiative of the City Roads Administration. It is responsible, among other things, for the decorations that appear every year on Krakowskie Przedmieście and pl. Zamkowy Square. Their design changes every three years, as officials announce new tenders at such intervals. The installation project itself, however, is no longer the result of the work of officials, but of an external company. City Hall only determines the scope, number of figures and technical parameters.
innovative nature of the lights
Castle Square and Krakowskie Przedmieście - illuminations from previous seasons
photo: ZDM
Submitted proposals are evaluated according to the criterion of the lowest price (50%) and substantive criteria. The contractor's selection takes into account, among other things, consistency and matching to the style and character of the streets and urban space, energy efficiency, innovativeness of the solutions used and the possibility of recycling the materials used. The last tender resulted in very classic, conservative designs for Christmas reeds with bulbs imitating candle flame.
product placement
photo by Kacper Kepinski
However, not all decorations in the capital's most important spaces are the result of officials' efforts. For years, the stretch of Nowy Świat between Swietokrzyska Street and De Gaulle Roundabout has been used as a giant advertising medium for decorations funded by successive sponsors. For the past few seasons, Warsaw residents have been able to walk among the chocolates hung around the advertisements. The ornaments are financed and installed by the sponsor, who has received permission to occupy the road lane and place the ads for a fee. Fees from this contribute to the city budget.
space commercialized
Photo by Kacper Kepinski
The application for the occupation of a road lane and placement of advertisements includes the opinion of the Plenipotentiary of the President of the City of Warsaw for the Representative Area and Film Productions, the Monument Conservator and the Bureau of Architecture and Spatial Planning. Agreeing and giving an opinion on illumination projects is within the scope of the BAiPP's Public Space Development Department, and such a project was submitted by the New World Association. For it is the initiator of the commercialization of this part of Warsaw's decorations. In addition to the Bureau of Architecture and Spatial Planning, the Mayor's Plenipotentiary for Representative Area and Film Production should also take care of the shape of the illuminations. A positive opinion has been issued in consultation with the BAiPP of the Department of Landscape Protection of the City .
don't want to look at advertising - don't leave home
Photo: Kacper Kepinski
Christmas advertising on Nowy Swiat is a regular practice that has been taking place for many years. However, this is the first time it has received such an elaborate, intrusive form. Instead of the previous light garlands and suspended decorations - light and openwork - huge steel structures on lashings have appeared. They are attached to gold-painted concrete bases, which in some places take up more than half the width of the sidewalk. The unattractive appearance, a very technical solution with golden arches, is particularly bad during the day. Their aesthetics are somewhat reminiscent of the early 2000s and semi-circular canopies filled with brownish polycarbonate. The arches above the roadway are complemented by mountains of gold plastic pralines decorated with manufacturer logos, arranged in the shape of Christmas trees. Their shabby aesthetics, size and number effectively kill the intimate character of this part of the street.
could it have been worse?
photo by Kacper Kepinski
At the stage when the project was agreed upon by the City Council, the sponsor's logo on the concrete bases of the Christmas trees was abandoned, and the form of making the inscription at the bottom of the crowns of the Christmas trees was changed to openwork. According to information received from the President of the Association's Board of Directors, the area of advertisements on the decoration was limited at the agreement stage. The current signage display is 63% of the 2018-2020 advertising. However, this is hard to believe given that previously the ads were limited to hanging coffers above the street.
advertising chaos at its own request
In the context of the commercialization of one of the city's most important spaces and turning it into a giant advertisement, the declarations of Warsaw's authorities about the alleged fight against advertising in the capital's space become questionable. After all, what is the difference between oversized pralines stacked on concrete bases with coffers hanging over the heads of passersby and advertising rags? Seasonality and the acquiescence of officials?
