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All the joy of the season

#Group News
​Throughout the year, URW is committed to delivering extra-ordinary experiences to our visitors and having a positive impact on our wider communities. But, during the holiday season, we kick this into overdrive… From delighting young visitors with the magic of Christmas to providing warm meals and gifts to those who are less fortunate, this year the teams at our shopping centres went above and beyond to share the love.

Extra-care for the Holiday Season

🎄 Kids were top of mind, whether that was L.A.’s Westfield Century City raising money for children in foster care, Westfield Les 4 Temps and Westfield Parquesur collecting toy donations or Westfield Vélizy 2 hosting a pop-up store with Le P’tit Chalet Ephémère selling second-hand toys and games at low prices to ensure every child has a gift to open on Christmas morning.

🎄 Other initiatives sought to share a little joy with the homeless community, including Westfield Germany’s three-year partnership with Sheltersuit, a company that makes and distributes warm, waterproof clothing that can be transformed into a sleeping bag. This year alone, 145 Sheltersuits were funded and handed out due to the partnership, and more than €110,000 was raised in conjunction with a local radio station.



🎄 To bring joy to those who would otherwise be on their own for the holidays, every year Westfield Chodov organises a Christmas Eve Dinner, inviting 130 guests and providing them with gifts donated by our generous tenants and partners. The initiative, now in its sixth year, is designed to increase social inclusion and community connections.



🎄 Westfield London opened the doors to a WeEthical fashion pop-up in partnership with Charity Super.MKT! It was the same spirit at Westfield Vélizy 2 with Le P’tit Chalet Ephémère, a pop-up store run by Emmaüs selling second hand toys and clothes at low prices, and the Solidarity Factory at Westfield La Part-Dieu, where people could find all types of gifts for their loved ones.

Extra-magic festive spirit

Aside from this year’s charity work, we continued to bring surprise and delight to visitors across Europe and the U.S. with visits from Santa, Christmas parades, festive markets, exhibitions and live music.

🎅Westfield Mall of the Netherlands kicked of the festive season in mid-November hosing its annual exclusive concert for 1,000 Westfield Club members and welcoming the Dutch megastar Emma Heesters!



🎅 Westfield London hosted a giant gingerbread city, and its annual ice rink was as popular as ever. Visitors also took to the ice at Westfield Arkadia and enjoyed a roller-skating rink at Westfield World Trade Center and Westfield La Maquinista.



🎅 There was a massive drone light show at Westfield Centro, heralding the opening of its annual Christmas market, which featured 130 stalls selling gifts and festive food, while Westfield Stratford City curated the Illuminate East Festival, a free night of activities and entertainment that featured the Nutcracker Brass Band, Go Gospel, LED drummers, acrobatic light up elves and ice jugglers. Santa stopped by many of our centres, including Westfield Old Orchard in Chicago and his elves were spotted at Westfield Forum des Halles and the Ruhr Park Christmas Parade in Germany.



🎅 For festive music, the Gospel Joy choir sang at Westfield Mokotów while the NFM Girls’ Choir held a concert at Wroclavia. The celebration continued at Westfield Forum des Halles with the Mozart Conservatory and a showcase by Junior Eurovision winner Valentina. In Spain, the Dominican vocalist Henry Méndez delighted the crowds with a Christmas show at Splau.

These are just some of the ways we celebrated the season and gave back to the communities. As we look ahead to the New Year, we’re excited to keep sharing the joy and having a positive impact for all, while delivering extra-ordinary experiences to our diverse visitors, every day. ​