STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: July 21, 2026
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Magdalena Davis Jones, Community Outreach Manager Subject: Recommendation of the Beverly Hills City Council Liaison Rodeo Drive / Special Events / Holiday Program Committee Regarding Rodeo Drive Holiday Décor 2026, and
Approval of a Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Purchase Order in an Amount Not-To-Exceed $566,959.20 to J. Ben Bourgeois
Productions, Inc. for Rodeo Drive Holiday Décor Materials and Services
Attachments: 1. Proposal from Rodeo Drive Committee for Rodeo Drive Holiday Décor 2026
2. City Council Liaison/Rodeo Drive /Special Events /Holiday Program Committee Report from June 30, 2026 (without
attachments)
INTRODUCTION
This report provides the recommendation of the Beverly Hills City Council Liaison/Rodeo Drive/Special Events/Holiday Program Committee (Liaisons) of Mayor Corman and Vice Mayor Wells, regarding the Rodeo Drive Committee’s proposed 2026 holiday décor, “50 Years of Brilliance” and budget of $566,959.20 for the season on Rodeo Drive. With approval of the overall theme and design of the décor, the holiday lighting celebration kickoff event and banner design will return at a later date. Council is also requested to approve a purchase order for the décor to J. Ben Bourgeois Productions, Inc. (JBB), in an amount not-to-exceed $566,959.20.
DISCUSSION
Each year the City sponsors a signature holiday program designed to celebrate the season and attract visitors from around the region to shop, dine and stay in Beverly Hills.
These unique themed annual designs are separate from the various Citywide Holiday Decor elements, which have already been recommended separately. This report provides the recommendation from the June 30, 2026, meeting of Beverly Hills City Council Liaison Rodeo Drive / Special Events / Holiday Program Committee (Liaisons), Mayor Corman and Vice Mayor Wells from the Rodeo Drive Committee (RDC) for the 2026 Holiday Décor.
Meeting Date: July 21, 2026
The Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting kickoff celebration event, set for Thursday, November 19, 2026, with the holiday program continuing through January 3, 2026, will return in a following meeting, should Council approve of the theme and elements of the décor, the banner design along with the Holiday Lighting kickoff event proposal will be brought back for review after a Liaison recommendation.
J. Ben Bourgeois Productions, Inc., is the current contractor for Rodeo Drive holiday décor and celebration event, and worked with the RDC on a dazzling theme with brand-new décor elements that the Liaisons recommended to move forward, featuring a mix of classic, oversized wreaths with gifts on platforms, with a twist: sparkling gems. The Liaisons also reviewed and approved additional elements for lighting this year.
The RDC is celebrating their 50th year anniversary, and the theme reflects the oft-said statement “Rodeo Drive is the gem of Beverly Hills”. The RDC proposed three theme names for the holiday décor, and Liaisons agreed with the recommended: “50 Years of Brillance”.
The theme will epitomize the luxury and glamour associated with Rodeo Drive, while including icons like wreaths that are so traditional to the warm community of Beverly Hills during the holidays. With a Rodeo Drive elevated twist, the proposed décor design (Attachment 1) includes 5 very large-scale vignettes on platforms in the median of Rodeo Drive, with wreaths, gifts and holiday iconography such as menorahs, each with a unique color scheme, to a large size and scale of 16 feet tall. In addition, there will be 2 oversized gems on giftbox-like bases up to 12 feet tall total, on the endcaps of the median. This addition is based on feedback to incorporate the ends of the street, drawing people adjacent or passing by onto the block. Fencing elements would be incorporated onto the platforms, for both safety and incorporate branding. These platform gems, ornaments and gifts would be sparkling during the day, and both the bases and wreaths well-lit at night for a beautiful display.
As well as the major décor elements, there was a desire to incorporate across-the-street features for size, scale and a beautiful aesthetic, but also for a practical purpose. There is quite a bit of construction with sidewalk barricades currently on Rodeo Drive, and more to come this year. Having 4 across-the-street lit wreaths and garland would draw eyes upward, incorporating sections of the street where median platforms may not be as visible from the sidewalk due to construction. These garlands would have ornaments to shine during the day, and lighting at night.
This lighting would complement the traditional dripping lights on the palm trees, wrapped sidewalk palm trees, rosebush lighting, and banners (designs to come).
The Liaisons heard the various options for the across-street garlands, and recommended that all 4 areas proposed have garlands, complemented with ornaments, lighting, and “dripping icicle” style lights that look similar to the palm trees. While these garlands are considered an upgrade from the lighting from previous years, the Liaisons expressed that they consider the over 7 weeks of décor to be more cost-effective than the single day of the event celebration, and given that they share a budget, would rather prioritize the décor.
The Liaisons also reviewed and recommended the RDC’s proposals for savings from previous years, including having the City explore storage options internally rather than through a third-party, and utilize existing City contracts for security, rather than a thirdparty vendor. Both of these would then not be subject to an agency fee, and staff agreed to execute those items separately from the JBB agreement for décor.
Meeting Date: July 21, 2026
As proposed, JBB and RDC would follow all City requirements for permits and inspection, without a charge so the agency fee would not apply to permits or labor, however including the necessary staff time to review and approve the installation and electrical uses. All installations and lighting testing will take place overnight, to not impact the Rodeo Driver merchants.
Council will see a separate proposal for banner design, and for the Holiday Lighting Celebration event, after Liaison review.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for the Rodeo Drive Holiday décor, as well as the Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration, comes from TOT. The City has maintained a policy of funding its tourism and marketing programs from a specific allocation of the TOT. The City collects a total of fourteen percent TOT based on gross room sales from the City’s hotels. One-seventh of the total TOT revenue has been the basis of calculating the funding for the Tourism and Marketing budget in Beverly Hills for approximately 27 years.
The total Rodeo Drive holiday budget, which will include the celebration event, will be brought back at a later time.
The 2025 Rodeo Drive Holiday Decor and Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration are funded by the Tourism and Marketing budget (00101311) with Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) funds. Funding is available to cover the decor funding request by the RDC of $566,959.20. The FY 26/27 budget includes funding for other Tourism & Marketing events and programs, including the holiday lighting celebration event.
JBB has been the selected vendor for Rodeo Drive Holiday Décor and Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting celebrations since 2019. The City of Beverly Hills has an existing contract with J. Ben Bourgeois Productions, Inc. (JBB) for services; and approval of a purchase order in an amount not-to-exceed $566,959.20 is requested from the Council as well.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council provide feedback regarding the 2026 Rodeo Drive Décor theme and designs for the recommended theme “50 Years of Brilliance” and approve the requested Purchase Order in a Not-to-Exceed Amount of $566,959.20 to J.
Ben Bourgeois Productions, Inc. for the Rodeo Drive Holiday Décor on Rodeo Drive. The Holiday Lighting Celebration and banner designs will be brought back to Liaisons, then Council, for separate review and approval.
Keith Sterling,
Deputy City Manager
Approved By
Attachment 1
2026
RODEO DRIVE
HOLIDAY DECOR
DÉCOR THEME INSPIRATION
HOLIDAY THEME
RECOMMENDATION:
50 Years of Brilliance
Our design features the elegance and sophistication of the holiday spirit. Brilliant oversized gemstones on sparkling platforms can be seen as you enter Rodeo Drive from either end. An overhead garland wreath span will enhance the view as shoppers discover the magnificent installations.
Each wreath installation is scaled at 16 feet, double-sided, so each side of the street see a mirror image of the display. Beautiful wrapped packages enhance the look as the wreath is bejeweled with gems, sparkling ornaments, and twinkling lights.
LIGHTING
CONCEPTS
The c enter median Palm Trees
will be wrapped in warm white
light and dripping with running
lights as the white rosebus hes
are immerse d in a c asc ade of
s parkling lights
CENTER MEDIAN ILLUMINATION
RODEO DRIVE OVERHEAD GARLAND SPANS
RODEO DRIVE OVERHEAD
GARLAND SPANS - LOCATIONS
South Santa
Monica Blvd.
Span
Brighton Way
Span
Dayton Way
Span
Wilshire Blvd.
Span
PLATFORM
CONCEPTS
HOLIDAY DÉCOR (200 & 400 BLOCK) ELEMENTS
Electroplated Metal
Outdoor Gemstone
Sculptures
Sapphire Ruby
Black, outdoor rated wooden
platform box for support
4’
4’
4’
Overall height 12’ Tall
Mirrored metallic wrapped wooden
base, RDC50 logo on one side of each,
Beverly Hills Shield opposite side
Perimeter
illuminated
garland for
evening glow
ng
WREATH MECHANICAL DRAWING
Outdoor rated wooden gift
boxes with a smooth finish,
painted in high gloss exterior
paint
Display is identical
from both sides of
the street.
Overall height 16’ Tall
6’
Double-sided Beverly Hills
shield coordinated to the
overall color story of each
stage.
Wreath includes a mix
of cool white and warm
white twinkle lights.
Stage stands 4’T
from the curb
Chrome mirror vinyl ribbons and bows, liquid
metal finish in complementary colors
6’
LOCATION #1
Color Concept: Red/Silver
- Beverly Hills Shield Center
- Red/Silver
- Silver Glitter Vinyl Ribbon
LOCATION #2
Color Concept: Silver/Pink/Green
- 50th Anniversary Medallion
- Silver/Pink/Green
- Pink Glitter Vinyl Ribbon
LOCATION #3
Color Concept: Green/Red
- Beverly Hills Shield Center
- Green/Red/Gold
- Red Glitter Vinyl Ribbon
LOCATION #4
Color Concept: Black/Silver/Gold
- 50th Anniversary Medallion
- Black, Silver, Gold
- Gold Glitter Vinyl Ribbon
LOCATION #5: HANUKKAH
HANUKKAH
Color Concept: Silver/Blue
- Silver/Sapphires
- Blue Glitter Vinyl Ribbon
- Center LED Menorah
Beverly Hills Shield
on opposite side
ADDITIONAL STAGE ELEMENTS
Oversized gift tags- Ranging in sizes from
2’ to 12” pending the box size on the
stage.
This year tags will feature the official
50th Anniversary logo for the street.
Option to have the text on the tag to be
in gold/silver.
WREATH DESIGN – EVENING VIEW
BUDGET
BUDGET, CONT.
THANK YOU!
Attachment 2
1 CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS
POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council Liaison/Rodeo Drive /Special Events /Holiday Program Committee
FROM: Magdalena Davis Jones, Community Services Manager DATE: June 30, 2026
SUBJECT: Proposal for Rodeo Drive Holiday Decor 2026
ATTACHMENT: 1. 2026 Rodeo Drive Holiday Décor Design Proposal Presentation
INTRODUCTION
This report provides the Beverly Hills City Council Liaison/Rodeo Drive/Special Events/Holiday Program Committee (Liaisons) of Mayor Corman and Vice Mayor Wells with an overview of the proposed Rodeo Drive holiday décor design for the 2026 season. It should be noted that this review is for Rodeo Drive décor design only. Based on feedback, the Rodeo Drive Committee (RDC) and J. Ben Bourgeois Productions, Inc. (JBB) will return at a later date for review of a proposal holiday banners on Rodeo, and for a Holiday Lighting Celebration, on Rodeo Drive to be held tentatively on Thursday, November 19, 2026.
DISCUSSION
Each year the City sponsors a signature holiday program designed to celebrate the season and attract visitors from around the region to shop, dine and stay in Beverly Hills. These unique themed annual designs are separate from the various Citywide Holiday Decor elements, which have already been recommended separately by the Liaisons. This report provides the proposal from the Rodeo Drive Committee (RDC) for the specific Rodeo Drive holiday décor design for the 2026 season.
The Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration, tentatively set for Thursday, November 19, 2026 based on a recommendation from the Liaisons at an earlier meeting meeting, will return as well, as the décor elements require a longer lead time for custom manufacturing and procurement.
Should the Liaisons approve the elements of the décor and budget, then banner design, along with the Holiday Lighting celebration proposal, will be brought to the Liaisons prior to the full Council.
For this year’s holiday season, the décor is proposed to be displayed and lit from November 19, 2026, until January 3, 2026. J. Ben Bourgeois Productions, Inc., is the current contractor for Rodeo Drive holiday décor and celebration event, and worked with the RDC on a dazzling theme with 2 brand-new décor elements. The RDC is celebrating their 50th year anniversary beginning this year, and the theme reflects the oft-said statement “Rodeo Drive is the gem of Beverly Hills”.
The RDC’s preferred themes reflect the elegant sophistication of the proposed gemstone motif.
Theme tagline options:
• The Most Dazzling Time of the Year!
• 50 Years of Brillance
• Round We Go in Holiday Glow
The theme will epitomize the luxury and glamour associated with Rodeo Drive, while including icons like wreaths that are so traditional to the warm community of Beverly Hills during the holidays. With a Rodeo Drive elevated twist, the proposed décor design (Attachment 1) includes 5 very large-scale vignettes on platforms in the median of Rodeo Drive, with wreaths, gifts and holiday iconography such as menorahs, each with a unique color scheme, to a large size and scale of 16 feet tall. In addition, there will be 2 oversized gems on giftbox-like bases up to 12 feet tall total, on the endcaps of the median. This addition is based on feedback to incorporate the ends of the street, drawing people adjacent or passing by onto the block. Fencing elements would be incorporated onto the platforms, for both safety and may incorporate branding. These platform gems, ornaments and gifts would be sparkling during the day, and both the bases and wreaths well-lit at night for a beautiful display.
As well as the major décor elements, there was a desire to incorporate across-the-street features for size, scale and a beautiful aesthetic, but also for a practical purpose. There is quite a bit of construction with sidewalk barricades currently on Rodeo Drive, and more to come this year. Having 4 across-the-street lit wreaths and garland would draw eyes upward, incorporating sections of the street where median platforms may not be as visible from the sidewalk due to construction. These garlands would have ornaments to shine during the day, and lighting at night.
This lighting would complement the traditional dripping lights on the palm trees, wrapped sidewalk palm trees, rosebush lighting, and banners (designs to come).
There are 2 upgrade options to make the garlands more full, matching more closely the look of the platforms, and also an option to add the same dripping lights to the garlands on each end of Rodeo Drive.
Additional garland thickness and ornaments upgrade is $23,058, or $5,764.50 per each of the 4 proposed spans. The second option of custom icicle dripping lights on 2 spans at each entry side of Rodeo Drive at Wilshire and S. Santa Monica Blvds., is $12,340.80, or $6,170.40 per 2 spans. Either or both of these upgrades may be incorporated, and would require additional review by public works and engineers.
As proposed, JBB and RDC would follow all City requirements for permits and inspection, without a charge so the agency fee would not apply to permits or labor, however including the necessary staff time to review and approve the installation and electrical uses. All installations and lighting testing will take place overnight, to not impact the Rodeo Driver merchants. With the Liaison 3 recommendation on the proposal a banner design, and ultimately a separate request for the Holiday Lighting Celebration event will be brought back to Liaisons for review and then presented to the full City Council for approval.
Based on discussions with Council last year, for additional context to the proposed budget, the RDC researched other luxury destination shopping areas. Many are a mix of public and private ownership, and considering that most private properties do not share budgetary information, the annual holiday décor budgets for premier luxury streets/areas generally fall into these ranges:
Small non Iconic luxury district $250,000–$750,000
Major luxury destination $750,000–$2 million
Iconic global destination with custom
installations
$2 million–$5 million
Those figures often include elements similar to Rodeo Drive such as:
• Custom LED lighting
• Street tree wrapping
• Pole decorations
• Entrance monuments
• Large Christmas trees
• Installation and removal
• Engineering/production costs
• Ongoing maintenance throughout
The RDC research compared Rodeo Drive to places like:
• Fifth Avenue (New York)
• Worth Avenue (Palm Beach, Florida)
• Union Square (San Francisco)
• Magnificent Mile / Michigan Avenue (Chicago)
• The Grove (Los Angeles)
• Bal Harbour Shops (Miami)
• King’s Road and Bond Street (London)
• Champs-Élysées (Paris)
• Via Monte Napoleone (Milan)
• Orchard Road (Singapore)
• Bahnhofstrasse (Zurich)
FISCAL IMPACT
The budget request for this 7 weeks of décor as proposed above is $561,358. Previous’ years holiday décor was budgeted at $497,652.10, and a full budget detailed sheet can be found on Attachment 1. This budget is separate from the Holiday Lighting Celebration on Rodeo Drive, but typically one budget effects the other; i.e., the Celebration event budget comes down if the décor budget goes up.
4 It should be noted that funding for the Rodeo Drive Holiday décor, as well as the Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration, comes from TOT, the City’s Tourism and Marketing budget. TOT has traditionally funded the Rodeo Drive holiday décor and program, in addition to the annual partner workplans, Concours car show event, and some small amounts for landscaping the business areas including Rodeo, and the City’s trademark branding attorneys.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff requests the City Council Liaisons review and provide feedback regarding the 2026 Rodeo Drive Holiday décor proposed theme and designs, and budget, as described further in Attachment 1 to this report.