Media & Insights

Behind Landsec’s Piccadilly Lights Transformation: From Iconic Screen to Experiential Brand Platform

1 October 2025

Piccadilly Lights, London’s iconic digital landmark owned by Landsec, has evolved beyond its role as an advertising screen, offering brands an immersive, multi-functional space to engage with millions of visitors each year.

Once a static billboard, the screen - operated by Ocean Outdoor - and its surrounding area have transformed into the ultimate advertising destination with the addition of The Venue, a high-tech, adaptable space beneath the Piccadilly Lights screen where brands can deliver creative experiences.

Seen by tens of millions annually, and with a global reach across social media, TV, film and gaming, Piccadilly Lights provides brands with unparalleled visibility in one of the world’s most recognisable public spaces.

Entertainment giant Disney will be the latest brand to utilise Piccadilly Lights screen and The Venue when it hosts the first-ever red carpet for the UK Sneak Peek immersive event of TRON: Ares tonight (1st October). They’ll welcome the main cast of the 2025 movie, while visitors to Piccadilly Circus can experience TRON:Ares content with a full screen takeover using Deep Screen Technology.

Tomorrow (2nd October), the space will be transformed into a fully immersive TRON: Ares experience, featuring cutting-edge lighting, immersive soundscapes, and futuristic set pieces. Visitors will navigate a neon-lit corridor, pose in the iconic Lightcycle zone, and explore a high-tech Digital Control Hub, experiencing key moments from the TRON universe brought vividly to life. This is just one way a brand has activated The Venue, using its four ultra-HD+ interactive screens, immersive 3D visuals, dynamic lighting, and premium audio, all integrated with the external screen.

Piccadilly Lights has been illuminating Piccadilly Circus since 1904 when the first electric advertisement sign was installed, two years before the underground station opened. 
Only twice have ‘the lights gone out’ intentionally for a significant period - in 1939 as part of the London Blackout for the duration of WWII, and in 2017 when Landsec, in partnership with Ocean Outdoor, refurbished the screen, later adding DeepScreen technology to remain at the forefront of advertising and entertainment.

The latest iteration of Piccadilly Lights is a global first with a dynamic experiential platform directly linked to the screen allowing live-streaming of internal activity. The platform  has recently welcomed high-profile takeovers from brands including Dior, L’Oréal, and Williams F1, each delivering memorable campaigns that engage audiences and amplify their presence on a global scale. Last year, YouTube royalty KSI and IShowSpeed went head-to-head in a live gaming showdown at The Venue, drawing hundreds of spectators and generating over 100 million social media impressions.

Derek Manns, Head of Commercialisation at Landsec, said: “Piccadilly Lights is no longer just a screen - it’s the nation’s noticeboard and a world-class platform for brands to showcase creativity, innovation and cultural relevance. With millions passing through Piccadilly Circus each year, it has long been a place that unites communities and captures imaginations. Now, with the addition of Piccadilly Lights - The Venue, we’re offering brands the power to bring their stories to life in a physical space - creating deeper, more immersive connections that go beyond the screen. From high-profile takeovers to experiential moments like Disney’s TRON: Ares, we’re proud to provide a stage where brands can push boundaries, spark emotion, and create moments that truly resonate.”

Ocean Outdoor UK CEO Phil Hall said: “There are only a handful of advertising spaces in the world that are as impactful as Piccadilly Lights.  Ten years after we first unveiled our vision for the modern day icon, Landsec’s progressive investment gives agencies and brands, including L’Oreal, Disney and Oasis, a contemporary stage in the heart of London's West End to redefine what DOOH means with entertaining, cultural experiences that extend well beyond the norm.”