In 1947, Norway sent London a Christmas tree to thank Britain for its help in the Second World War. 79 years later, Oslo still sends one every year, usually a 50- to 60-year-old spruce more than 20 metres tall

Every December, a tall Norway spruce goes up in London’s Trafalgar Square, strung with lights in front of the National Gallery. It is not bought from a nursery. It is a gift from the city of Oslo, sent every year since 1947 to thank Britain for its help during the Second World War.

According to the Greater London Authority, the tree is usually a Norwegian spruce more than 20 meters high and 50 to 60 years old. It is chosen from the forests around Oslo months or even years in advance, and the foresters who tend it call it “the queen of the forest.”

Why Norway says thank you

The gift goes back to the war. As the Associated Press explains, when Nazi Germany invaded Norway in 1940, King Haakon VII and the Norwegian government escaped to London and led a government in exile from there. Much of Norway’s resistance work was organized from Britain.

The BBC and its Norwegian counterpart, NRK, broadcast news in Norwegian from London. With the occupying authorities banning radios, Norwegians listened in secret. In 1947, two years after the war ended, Oslo’s city government began sending a Christmas tree to London as a token of thanks.

Picking the right tree

Choosing the tree is a long job. The City of Oslo says its Agency for Urban Environment looks for a spruce growing naturally in the Oslo forest that looks good from every angle, stands close to a forest road so a crane and truck can reach it, and will fit into a custom-made cradle for the journey.

From forest to square

The tree is cut down in November at a ceremony attended by the Mayor of Oslo, the Lord Mayor of Westminster and the British ambassador to Norway. Oslo says it is then laid in its cradle and driven about 180 kilometers to the port of Brevik, where it is rinsed to remove salt picked up from Norwegian winter roads.

The shipping company DFDS carries it to Immingham on England’s east coast, stored below deck to keep seawater off it, on a crossing of about 26 hours. Oslo says switching to electric trucks and other changes have cut the tree’s carbon footprint by 80%, leaving a total impact roughly equal to one person’s round-trip flight between Oslo and Copenhagen.

In London, the lights are hung in vertical strings, the Norwegian way, and the tree is lit on the first Thursday in December, the AP reports. It stays until January 5.

Not always the queen of the forest

Londoners have not always been kind about the gift. In 2022, Time Out reported that the previous year’s tree had been widely mocked online as thin and tired, and that the 2022 tree, bushy in photos from the Norwegian forest, appeared to have lost some of its fullness by the time it reached the square.

Oslo’s tree page says transport time has been cut since 2022, which helps protect the branches.

The 2025 tree, nicknamed “Ever Oslo,” was about 20 meters tall and around 60 years old, according to the AP. It beat two rival trees for the honor and was felled on November 21.

This year’s tree

The tradition is still running. Time Out reports that the 2026 tree will be put up in Trafalgar Square on Thursday, December 3.

Oslo City Council has also voted unanimously to keep sending the tree for four more years, up to 2027, according to the city. That covers this Christmas and next. After 79 years, whether the gift continues beyond 2027 is a decision for the council.