If you're already searching for Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour dates, you're not early — you're on schedule. The "Holidays Are Coming" truck has become one of the UK's genuine Christmas traditions since it first toured in 2011, and every year the same question starts doing the rounds from October onwards: when's it coming, and where?
Here's the honest answer as things stand: Coca-Cola hasn't yet confirmed the 2026 UK tour dates or locations. We've checked Coca-Cola GB's own media centre and multiple UK news sources, and nothing official has landed for this year at the time of writing. That's not unusual — but it does mean you should treat any "2026 locations" list you find online with real caution, because several sites are currently reusing last year's schedule or labelling rumoured guesses as confirmed stops. This guide sticks to what's actually verified, explains when you can realistically expect the announcement, and gives you last year's tour as your best point of reference while you wait.
Is the Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour confirmed for 2026?
Not yet, as of this article's publication. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), which runs the tour in Great Britain, typically confirms the full line-up in stages rather than all at once. Last year's tour — which marked the 15th anniversary of the truck touring the UK — was formally announced in mid-November 2025, with individual local stops confirmed progressively through the following weeks rather than published as one complete list on day one.
If that pattern holds for 2026, expect the first confirmed stops to start appearing from around mid-to-late November, with the rest of the schedule filling in through late November and December. We'll update this guide the moment official 2026 dates and locations are confirmed, so it's worth bookmarking rather than relying on a list that claims to have the full 2026 schedule already — if you see one dated before Coca-Cola's own announcement, treat it as a guess.
What is the Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour, for anyone who's missed it
The tour is built around Coca-Cola's "Holidays Are Coming" advert — first aired in 1995 and now one of the most recognisable Christmas adverts in the UK, largely thanks to its jingle. Since 2011, Coca-Cola has brought that advert to life by sending a fleet of illuminated trucks around Great Britain each winter, usually stopping at retail parks, shopping centres and supermarket car parks for a single day each.
At each stop, the truck becomes a free pop-up Christmas event: visitors can play festive games, try to win Coca-Cola merchandise, and get a cold can of Coca-Cola Original Taste, Zero Sugar or Diet Coke. It's a low-key, free event rather than a ticketed experience, which is exactly why it draws a crowd — and why "near me" searches spike every year once word gets out that a specific date is set.
Where the truck visited in 2025 (for reference only — not a prediction)
Coca-Cola hasn't announced where the truck is going in 2026, but last year's confirmed schedule gives a useful sense of the kind of towns and venues it tends to visit. Treat this purely as background, not a shortlist of where it'll turn up this time.
| Date (2025) | Location | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 21 Nov | Edinburgh | ASDA Supercentre |
| Sat 22 Nov | Edinburgh | Ford Kinnaird |
| Thu 27 Nov | Burton-upon-Trent | The Mill House |
| Fri 28 Nov | Bradford | Morrisons, Bradford Road |
| Sat 29 Nov | Manchester | Trafford Centre |
| Sun 30 Nov | Liverpool | Speke Boulevard |
| Wed 3 Dec | Leeds | Asda, Killingbeck Drive |
| Fri 5 Dec | Ipswich | Kingfisher, Stonegate |
| Sat 6 Dec | Ipswich | Waitrose, Crane Boulevard |
| Thu 11 Dec | Hatfield | Tesco, Great North Road |
| Fri 12 Dec | Epsom | Sainsbury's, Kiln Lane |
| Sat 13 Dec | Camberley | Tesco, The Meadows |
| Sun 21 Dec | Cardiff | Cedar Tree Farm pub |
A few patterns worth noting: stops regularly land at major supermarkets — Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Waitrose have all hosted the truck — and at large shopping centres like the Trafford Centre. If 2026 follows a similar shape, it's reasonable to expect a mix of supermarket car parks and shopping centre forecourts again, spread across Scotland, the North, the Midlands, the South East and Wales, with each stop running from midday into the evening.
What actually happens at a truck stop
Based on past tours, here's what to expect if you do make it to a stop once 2026 dates are confirmed:
Opening hours have typically run from around 12pm to 8pm for a single day at each location. Arrive well before the advertised start time if you want to avoid the longest wait — past stops, including a Birmingham Bullring visit that drew queues snaking around the surrounding streets before the truck had even arrived, show just how quickly a crowd can build once word spreads locally.
Visitors are usually given a free, ice-cold can of Coca-Cola Original Taste, Zero Sugar or Diet Coke, along with the chance to play festive games for a shot at winning branded merchandise. Past stops have also set up can recycling points on site, so it's worth holding onto your empty can rather than taking it with you. And because stops run outdoors through November and December, dress for the weather — past crowds have queued in the rain, and a stop that's "indoors" at a shopping centre forecourt can still be exposed.
The charity side: FareShare and the meal deal donation
The tour isn't purely promotional. For the 2025 tour, CCEP renewed its partnership with FareShare, the UK's largest food redistribution charity, with a direct donation equivalent to one million meals. Alongside that, CCEP ran a linked promotion with Tesco: for every festive meal deal bought together with a 500ml bottle of Coca-Cola Original Taste, Zero Sugar or Diet Coke (including flavoured variants), 20p was donated to FareShare.
Coca-Cola hasn't confirmed whether this exact arrangement will continue in 2026, but given it's now a multi-year partnership, a similar FareShare tie-in for this year's tour wouldn't be a surprise. We'll update this section once the 2026 charity details are confirmed.
How to find out the moment 2026 dates are announced
A few genuinely useful ways to stay ahead of the announcement, rather than relying on a third-party "rumoured locations" list:
Follow Coca-Cola GB's official social channels directly, since the tour's full schedule is typically shared there first. It's also worth keeping an eye on the social pages of large shopping centres and supermarkets near you — individual venues often confirm their own date publicly as soon as it's locked in, sometimes before Coca-Cola's master schedule is fully live. And if your local stop does turn out to be a supermarket car park, it's a sensible moment to also sort the rest of your Christmas food shop — our guide on cutting your grocery bill this autumn has practical ways to keep that spend down while prices climb into the festive run-up.
Since the truck tour lands right in the middle of the UK's busiest shopping weeks, it's also worth lining up the rest of your Christmas planning around the same window. Our Black Friday 2026 guide covers what's worth buying and how to spot a genuine deal, and our Christmas delivery deadlines guide will help make sure anything you order online actually arrives in time. We'll keep this page updated as soon as Coca-Cola confirms the 2026 Christmas Truck Tour schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Coca-Cola Christmas truck definitely coming back in 2026?
Coca-Cola hasn't made an official announcement either way at the time of writing, but the tour has run annually in the UK since 2011 and marked its 15th year in 2025, so a 2026 return is likely based on that track record — just not yet confirmed.
When will the 2026 dates be announced?
Based on last year's pattern, expect the first confirmed stops from around mid-to-late November 2026, with the rest of the schedule added progressively through the following weeks.
Is it free to visit the Coca-Cola Christmas truck?
Yes. Past tours have been free to attend, with free drink samples and festive games at each stop — there's no ticket or booking required.
Will the truck visit London?
London hasn't featured on every past schedule, and 2025's confirmed stops didn't include a London date, with the tour instead covering Scotland, the Midlands, the North, the South East and Wales. Coverage varies year to year, so check the official schedule once it's released.
Does the truck visit Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
Scotland and Wales have both featured on past tours — Edinburgh and Cardiff were both 2025 stops. Northern Ireland hasn't typically been part of the Great Britain truck tour schedule.
Planning the rest of your Christmas shopping while you wait for the truck tour dates? Browse PrimeVoucher's full list of UK stores for working codes and deals across the retailers you're already shopping with this season.