Christmas Number 1 2026: Race Opens Dec. 18, Revealed on Christmas Day

The Official Christmas Number 1 single of 2026 will be announced on Friday, Dec. 25, Christmas Day, the Official Charts Company says. The date is set. With Christmas falling on a Friday this year, the festive chart reveal lands on the big day itself, rather than on the Friday before it. The race that decides the winner opens on Friday, Dec. 18 and closes at 11.59pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on Thursday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve.

The result will be revealed on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Radio 1’s The Official Chart with Jack Saunders. The Official Charts Company says the exact broadcast time for 2026 is not yet confirmed. No time is set yet.

Christmas Number 1 2026 key dates

The qualifying chart week is seven days long. It opens on Friday, Dec. 18 and closes at 11.59pm GMT on Thursday, Dec. 24. The close time converts to the evening of Dec. 24 in North America (computed from GMT): 6.59pm Eastern Time (ET), 5.59pm Central Time (CT), 4.59pm Mountain Time (MT) and 3.59pm Pacific Time (PT).

Date	What happens
Friday, Dec. 18	The Christmas Number 1 race opens
Thursday, Dec. 24	The race closes at 11.59pm GMT (6.59pm ET), Christmas Eve
Friday, Dec. 25	The Official Christmas Number 1 is revealed, Christmas Day

The Official Charts Company says the chart combines eligible UK physical sales, digital downloads, audio streams and video streams. One release already in the running for the festive season is Olivia Rodrigo’s “take me home (4 christmas),” which the Official Charts Company says came out on Friday, Nov. 6 via Interscope Records.

Why the reveal is on Christmas Day this year

Christmas Day 2026 falls on a Friday, the day the UK’s weekly singles chart is published. Friday is chart day. The Official Charts Company says that with Christmas on a Friday, the reveal takes place on Christmas Day itself. The last time Christmas Day fell on a Friday was 2020, when LadBaby’s “Don’t Stop Me Eatin’” was crowned the UK’s Official Christmas Number 1.

Christmas Day falls on a Friday only twice between 2026 and 2040 (computed): 2026 and 2037. For more on the UK date, see our guide to when Christmas Day falls in the UK, and plan the month with our December 2026 printable calendar.

Christmas Number 1 winners since 2020

The weekday that Christmas Day fell on in each recent year is computed from the calendar. The winners are from the Official Charts Company’s list of every Official Christmas Number 1.

Year	Christmas Day	Christmas Number 1	Artist
2020	Friday	“Don’t Stop Me Eatin’”	LadBaby
2021	Saturday	“Sausage Rolls for Everyone”	LadBaby ft. Ed Sheeran & Elton John
2022	Sunday	“Food Aid”	LadBaby
2023	Monday	“Last Christmas”	Wham!
2024	Wednesday	“Last Christmas”	Wham!
2025	Thursday	“Xmas”	Kylie Minogue

Where to hear the Christmas Number 1 2026

The Official Charts Company says the Official Christmas Number 1 will be revealed on BBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart with Jack Saunders. The broadcast time for the 2026 reveal is not yet confirmed, and the midweek First Look dates have not yet been published. Tune in on Dec. 25.

If you are marking the UK festive period, our guide to the Christmas bank holidays in the UK sets out the dates around the same week.