TBILISI, December 12 – Tbilisi flips the switch on its main Christmas tree on Friday night, opening the city’s New Year village at First Republic Square, a new location that comes after last year’s holiday site became embroiled in political conflict.
According to Tbilisi City Hall, the central tree will be lit at 20:00 on Friday, December 12, at First Republic Square. The ceremony also launches the city’s festive village, with decorations, installations and a daily market area combining food stalls and small business stands. City Hall said the opening show will include a staged musical performance, acrobatics and dance numbers, plus a scene from Oscar Wilde’s fairy tale The Star Child.
The New Year Village is scheduled to run from December 12 through January 7. City Hall said the program will include concerts by bands and pop performers, a Christmas market, cooking masterclasses, performances, an open-air cinema and activities for children. The site is also set to feature an ice rink, an attractions park, a holiday “city train,” and Santa’s house. The village is expected to close with a festive event on January 7, while the main tree and ice rink are planned to remain in place through January 14.
The move to First Republic Square is notable, in light of the political tensions around last year’s similar installation closer to the political rallies near Parliament. To many locals, last year’s festive area became associated with the ruling Georgian Dream party, a point emphasized in a speech by then-president Salome Zourabichvili December 22, 2024, from a stage at Orbeliani Square, telling the crowd the stage and the square belonged to the Georgian people.
The greater physical separation between the rallies and the festival area this year may reduce the risk of political tensions.
