London's world-famous Oxford Street, renowned for its dazzling festive lights and endless shops, has become a scene of overwhelming chaos in the final weekend before Christmas. Horrified shoppers have described the central London district as nearly 'impossible to move' through, with swarming crowds creating unprecedented congestion.
Pavements Overflow as Shoppers Pack Shoulder-to-Shoulder
Videos circulating on social media platforms like TikTok show a startling reality: pedestrians packed tightly, moving shoulder-to-shoulder down the iconic shopping street. The problems escalated to the point where people were pushed off pavements and forced to walk in the road, navigating around cyclists on Lime and Santander 'Boris' bikes.
One stunned TikTok user posted, 'I thought it would be busy but god d***. Couldn't even record getting into Selfridges that was something else.' Another simply captioned a clip of dozens trying to cross a road as 'packed everywhere'.
The statistics confirm the surge. High street footfall in the West End was up nine per cent on Black Friday this year compared to the same time in 2024. This influx has resulted in severe traffic jams and overcrowding at Underground stations, with large queues forming at street level.
A Capital Stretched: From Winter Wonderland to 'Hell' in Covent Garden
The chaotic scenes were not confined to Oxford Street. Footage from Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland on Saturday showed a huge crowd shoving inside a beer hall, with a member of staff forced to push back on railings to prevent them from toppling over.
Nearby, the festive tourist hotspot Covent Garden was declared 'hell' by visitors, with shoppers seen clutching hands to navigate the throng. Leicester Square also witnessed claustrophobic-inducing scenes as tourists and shoppers converged.
The transport network buckled under the pressure. On Sunday morning, travellers faced a 15-minute queue just to get to the Underground platforms at King's Cross station. One person told the Daily Mail the London Underground had turned into 'The Hunger Games', while a woman from Manchester described her journey as a 'nightmare' of packed trains, cancellations, and closed Tube entrances.
Pickpockets Roam Free in the Festive Scrum
Amidst the crowds and chaos, a more sinister element has been allowed to thrive. Pickpockets have been operating freely in the capital's packed retail hotspots, prompting some shoppers to take extreme precautions.
Young couple Teonie, 22, and Finlay, 19, who travelled from Nottingham for the weekend, revealed a relative had been robbed by a thief on a scooter in London. 'I feel like I need to keep a hold of my things,' Teonie said. 'I keep my bag under my coat and even that has a lock on it.' Finlay ensured all his pockets were zipped up.
Another woman from Oxford, who wished to remain anonymous, now only brings a zip-up bag to London. Kim Molina, 26, explained she is extra vigilant on Oxford Street as 'I've heard a lot of people [are] being grabbed from the side' by thieves who work in clusters.
Tourist Victor Freddie, 65, from Belgium, found London 'very difficult to walk around' but had thankfully avoided pickpockets. Ricky Wilson, 76, summed it up: 'It's obviously because it's the last weekend before Christmas... It's definitely difficult to move around, it is quite packed.'
Record-Breaking Festive Getaway Adds to Pressure
The retail frenzy coincides with what is predicted to be the UK's busiest ever festive travel period. The RAC forecasted 37.5 million leisure car trips between December 17 and Christmas Eve, the highest since records began in 2013.
Christmas Eve is expected to see 4.2 million of those journeys. Meanwhile, UK airports are bracing for their busiest Christmas getaway in history, with Heathrow anticipating its busiest December and Christmas Day on record.
Satnav data from TomTom indicates drivers face major congestion, with Edinburgh, London, and Manchester topping the list for the longest delays. The AA has warned travellers to plan ahead for what is set to be a record-breaking season of festive gridlock.
